Two birds of prey poisoned at Scots golf course as police launch probe
The two birds ingested the same type of highly toxic poison, resulting in their death.
Two birds of prey have been poisoned at a golf course in Dumfries and Galloway. Police launched a probe after a member of the public discovered a dead red kite and wood pigeon on Castle Douglas Golf Course on Thursday, April 10.
Following enquiries, it was established that the red kite had been poisoned, and the wood pigeon was used as poisoned bait.
On Tuesday, April 15, a second dead red kite was found nearby - and it has since been found that the two birds have ingested the same type of highly toxic poison, resulting in their death.
National Wildlife Crime Coordinator Detective Sergeant David Lynn said: "Red kites are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act and it is illegal to kill this protected species.
'Poisoning a bird or animal is not only cruel and callous, but it can harm other wildlife as well as members of the public. The use of this poison in a public area is extremely dangerous and poses a significant risk to anyone who comes into contact with it.
" Our enquiries are ongoing, and we are working with our partner agencies to establish the full circumstances of this incident. We would urge the public not to handle any dead animals they may find in this area of Castle Douglas, and if there are suspicious circumstances, I would ask you to report this to police. I would appeal to anyone with any information about the poisoning of these birds to contact us.'
If you saw anything suspicious or have any information about poisoning in the area, please contact Police Scotland on 101 quoting incident 0785 of April 10. Alternatively, you can contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 where information can be given anonymously.
It comes after police revealed two men had been arrested and charged after a red kite was "shot dead" in a separate incident in Aberdeenshire. Officers received a report that the bird had been killed in Glenbuchat, near Strathdon, sometime between Monday, February 3 and Tuesday, February 4.
Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community!
Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today.
You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland.
No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team.
All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in!
If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'.
We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like.
To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'.
If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
The bird, which was found by a member of the public, was recovered with the assistance of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) where the cause of death was not apparent at that time.
However, following further investigations, it was allegedly established that the bird had been shot and police were contacted. At the time officers appealed for information - and police today confirmed that two men, aged 39 and 42, have been arrested and charged in connection with wildlife offences.
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: "Two men have been arrested and charged in connection with wildlife offences following enquiries into the death of red kites in the Strathdon area of Aberdeenshire in February, 2025. The men, aged 39 and 42, will be reported to the Procurator Fiscal."
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Scotsman
an hour ago
- Scotsman
Staff member taken to hospital after being hurt in Morrisons petrol station robbery
Police Scotland has launched an investigation after the Morrisons petrol station was targeted in a robbery. Sign up to the daily Crime UK newsletter. All the latest crime news and trials from across the UK. Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... A worker at a Morrisons petrol station in East Kilbride has been taken to hospital after the site was targeted in a robbery. The incident happened at the facility on Lindsayfield Avenue around 12.15am on Monday morning. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The petrol station was cordoned off after the robbery. | Adobe A man working at the petrol station at the time was taken to hospital following the incident. It has been reported the worker was hit with a bottle during the robbery. The extent of any injuries is unknown. The petrol station was cordoned off following the robbery, with police launching an investigation. A Police Scotland spokesperson said: 'An investigation is under way following a robbery at a fuel station on Lindsayfield Avenue, East Kilbride. 'Police received a call around 12.15am on Monday, June 9, 2025.
Daily Record
an hour ago
- Daily Record
Elderly couple and dachshunds tragically die after car plummets down 300ft cliff
John and Lynn king were reportedly instantly killed once their silver motor crashed 300ft to the ground after going off the ridge on Friday. A bus driver and his frail wife tragically died alongside their two dachshunds after their Ford Mondeo plummeted off a cliff on Friday. It is understood John and Lynn king were instantly killed once their silver motor crashed 300ft to the ground after going off the ridge at Alum Bay, Isle of Wight on Friday. Neighbours have told how Lynn was so ill and frail she hadn't left home for two years. John was a bus driver for Southern Vectis, an operator on the Isle of Wight, and is reported to have good local knowledge of the roads, the Mirror reports. One shocked local said they saw the couple, thought to have been in their early 70s, just hours before they died. They told Mail Online: "It's really sad, I spoke to John a few times. He would always park his car right outside my house. I think I saw his wife maybe twice in the three years they'd been living in the road. "She wasn't well. I don't know exactly what she was suffering from but I think it was serious. John was effectively her carer. I never saw nurses or medically trained staff ever go in. I think he did everything for her." The neighbour said he saw John help Lynn to the car on Friday afternoon. They also had their two dachshunds with them, the friend added. They said: "His wife looked really, really frail. She was hunched over quite badly and was finding it very difficult to walk. I was surprised to see her out of the house." Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community! Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today. You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team. All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in! If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. Police launched an investigation into the pair's deaths are believed to be searching the couple's rented terrace home in Cowes, Isle of Wight. Pictures have shown officers there and at the fatal crash scene - at the well-known coastal spot on the west of the island. Mercy crews, including Coastguard, police, firefighters and paramedics were all deployed to the horror scene on Friday, and within minutes, reportedly fought to save a man who was pulled from the wreckage and onto the shore. Response teams were then seen commencing CPR on one of the casualties, according to the Mail Online. Photographs of the aftermath show the wreckage of the car submerged in the water. With the roof and bonnet crumpled, while coastguard searched around it. Alum Bay New Road, left the road, came off the clifftop and came to rest in the water below." Emergency services rushed to the scene and a winchman was lowered from the coastguard helicopter down to the bottom of the cliff on Friday.
Edinburgh Live
3 hours ago
- Edinburgh Live
Edinburgh friend of Mark Richardson taunted 'come and get me' before latest attacks
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info An associate of Mark Richardson is understood to have been targeted for a third time by henchmen working for Dubai-based gangster Ross McGill. A Transit van linked to Richardson's associate, Paddy Beatson, was torched in the early hours of Monday morning. The incident happened outside his home on Niddrie Marischal Crescent, reports the Daily Record. Only days before, Beatson taunted his rivals - known as Tamo Junto (TMJ). In a post online, he urged them to 'come and get him'. He wrote: "I'm home, if anyone's looking for me. I've never once ran. I've never even left my bit, other than to take my boy on a holiday. "If anyone wants it with me today, get on me. I won't be roped into a slagging match or arguments with fake accounts. I don't do that." (Image: Daily Record) The Ford van at Beatson's home was torched at around 4am on Monday. Half a mile away - and at the same time -a Range Rover believed to be owned by another associate of Richardson's was firebombed at a property on the capital's Campion Road. Cops are treating both incidents as suspicious. Images taken in the aftermath show the burnt out shells of both vehicles. Tamo Junto were quick to claim responsibility for the attacks in a video. Footage shared by the gang shows flames bursting out of the Range Rover and the Transit van. In one clip a hooded figure can be seen standing with an accelerant canister before he backs away from the fireball. The video plays the song Two Tribes by 80s pop group Frankie Goes to Hollywood and it ends with emojis of a black pawn chess piece and a sand timer appearing side by side. Beaton's home has been attacked twice previously in recent months. Sign up for Edinburgh Live newsletters for more headlines straight to your inbox On April 17, cops were alerted to possible fire damage at the property - and on March 20, shots were reportedly fired at the home by a masked gunman. The property on Campion Road, where the Range Rover was torched, was also on attacked before on May 10 - the same day Ross McGill "rejected a truce offer" with his enemies. Pictures taken at the time showed windows boarded up in the wake of the attack after men were filmed kicking in the door. McGill has been waging war on Richardson and his cronies in a series of violent attacks since March. We previously told how the pair are locked in a bitter feud after McGill was ripped off in a £500k cocaine deal. Homes, cars and businesses belonging to associates of Richardson have been hit in a series of firebombings and shootings. Machete thugs also pounced on his close ally David McMillan Snr at his home on Pitcairn Grove in the city last month. Police said they are treating the attack on the 56-year-old as attempted murder. It was the third time McMillan had been targeted in recent weeks. On April 17, two masked thugs set fire to his front door while children slept inside. (Image: Daily Record) The culprits torched the property before fleeing the scene. Just three weeks later on May 8, a white Land Rover SUV in his driveway went up in flames after his family returned home from a shopping trip. McGill's enforcers have also gone after the notorious Daniel crime clan during the feud due to their association with Richardson, with properties linked to the clan torched as violence spread to Glasgow. In April, a carpet and flooring unit owned by Daniel enforcer Craig "Rob Roy" Gallagher was torched in Bishopbriggs. And in Milton, a female pensioner and 12-year-old boy were injured after hoods stormed their home looking for a high-ranking member of the Daniel family. McGill's men went on to target the home of Steven 'Bonzo' Daniel, as well as the properties of his mum Annette, uncle Norman and sister Kelly 'Bo' Green. Last month, two men were attacked with a machete at a garage owned by Robert Daniel in East Kilbride. Last Saturday night, key Lyons clan lieutenants Eddie Lyons Jnr and Ross Monaghan were assassinated outside Monaghan's bar in Fuengirola. Join Edinburgh Live's Whatsapp Community here and get the latest news sent straight to your messages. Police Scotland later released a statement to say the force currently has 'no intelligence' to link the shootings in Fuengirola to the ongoing turf war, or that the shootings were organised from within Scotland - but underworld sources have claimed that is not the case as fingers were pointed at rival hoods. Just minutes after the double assassination, a posh mansion in the Renfrewshire village of Bridge of Weir was torched. Last week TMJ - who have been known for showcasing their attacks online - took credit for the firebombing as they released a picture of the blaze alongside a chilling threat. The gang wrote: "If you write stuff about us online or try to organise violence against us. "We will target you and your family. Don't steal from us. Don't threaten us. Don't switch on us. Or we will relentlessly come after you." Police Scotland has arrested 42 people in connection with a series of linked incidents relating to the war across the country in an investigation called Operation Portaledge.
