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One
of the Red Kites which was released in Co. Wicklow by Minister for the
Environment John Gormley was found in a comatose state earlier in the
month near Dromahair, Co. Leitrim. Local farmer Michael Torsney
found the bird in a very weak condition on a road verge near his farm.
he brought the bird home and put it under an infra-red heat lamp
which he normally used for nursing weak or chilled new-born lambs, and
contacted the Red Kite release scheme, via the phone numbers on the
back of the bird's wing tags. Blood and faecal samples were taken
from the bird by Sligo Regional Veterinary Laboratory, and tested at
Cork institute of Technology, where evidence of alphachloralose was
detected. This is a legal poison which is used to kill crows and
magpies, and is one of the biggest threats to the success of the Golden
Eagle, Sea Eagle and Red Kite re-introduction schemes, as well as to
indigenous birds of prey.
It seems likely that this was the same Red Kite as the one seen
near Kinlough, Co Leitrim by Bob Birtwhistle on the The bird was cared
for by a raptor rehabilitation expert in Donegal in co-operation with
his local vet and made a full recovery. The lucky bird, bearing
the wing tag 'N' was successfully released back into the wild in Co.
Wicklow this week.
"We are very grateful to Michael Torsney for his decisive and quick
response to this incident" said Damien Clarke, the Red Kite
Reintroduction Scheme's project manager. Another of the 30 Red Kites
released by the Minister was shot in Co. Wicklow last August.
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