More White-tailed Eagles confirmed poisoned in Dorset
Wildlife Poisoning Research UK says two eagles found dead in Dorset during 2024 carried potentially lethal concentrations of rat poison.
Two further White-tailed Eagles found dead in Dorset have been confirmed as carrying potentially lethal concentrations of anticoagulant rodenticides, according to an investigation by Wildlife Poisoning Research UK.
The group used Freedom of Information requests to obtain details about the deaths of two birds during 2024. Both had been exposed to Second Generation Anticoagulant Rodenticides, commonly known as SGARs.
One of the eagles, found in November 2024, was originally recorded by the Health and Safety Executive as having died following electrocution. WPRUK says tests also revealed a combined SGAR concentration of 0.194 mg/kg in its liver.
Natural England subsequently told the group that the concentrations reported in the bird were sufficiently high to justify further investigation.
A second White-tailed Eagle, found dead in May 2024, carried a combined liver concentration of 0.43 mg/kg. WPRUK says the rodenticides are believed to have contributed to its death.
Both results exceeded the 0.1 mg/kg threshold used by WPRUK to indicate potentially lethal exposure in White-tailed Eagles.
SGARs are widely used to control rats and mice. Predators and scavengers can be poisoned indirectly after eating contaminated rodents or other animals, allowing the chemicals to move through the food chain.
The findings follow the death of another White-tailed Eagle in Dorset in January 2022. A post-mortem examination concluded that the bird died after consuming rodenticides, although Dorset Police said there was insufficient evidence to prove that any person had deliberately poisoned it.
WPRUK says two more White-tailed Eagles subsequently died in Dorset, one in March 2025 and another in March 2026. The group says it has established that the 2025 bird was also exposed to SGARs, but full reports concerning those deaths have not been released publicly.
The organisation has also analysed SGAR residues found in Common Buzzards from England and Wales. Comparing results from 2005–13 with those from 2020–24, it found that the proportion carrying concentrations above 0.1 mg/kg had increased from 15.1% to 42.3%.
WPRUK says the mean concentration detected in buzzard livers increased by 230%, while exposure to brodifacoum, one of the most toxic SGARs, rose by 1,026% between the two periods.
Dr Ed Blane of WPRUK said: “The death of these majestic birds in Dorset, and the high amounts of poison found in their livers, should cause alarm bells to start ringing across the country.”
He said the results raised particular concerns as conservationists prepare to release White-tailed Eagles in other parts of England and Wales.
Since 2019, Forestry England and the Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation have released 45 young White-tailed Eagles from the Isle of Wight. Two pairs are now breeding in southern England and seven chicks have fledged from wild nests since the project began.
Natural England has also approved the release of up to 20 additional birds from Exmoor National Park over three years, intended to strengthen and expand the developing population.
WPRUK argues that previous regulation and the industry-led Rodenticide Stewardship Scheme failed to produce the promised reduction in wildlife exposure.
The Health and Safety Executive has since tightened the rules. SGAR products could no longer be purchased for use in open areas or waste dumps from July 2024, and their use in those locations became illegal on 1 January 2025.
HSE says brodifacoum has always been illegal for use in open areas, although authorised professional use of some SGAR products in and around buildings continues under stewardship conditions.
The full circumstances surrounding the deaths of the White-tailed Eagles found in Dorset during 2024, 2025 and 2026 have not yet been made public.
July 2026
Get Breaking Birdnews First
Get all the latest breaking bird news as it happens,
download BirdAlertPRO
for a 30-day free trial. No payment details required and get exclusive first-time subscriber offers.
Share this story
