THE poisoning of rare birds is doing "untold harm" to the reputation of the Borders, according to Councillor Sandy Aitchison.
The Borders Party member for Galashiels and District was reacting to the recent discovery of the carcass of a red kite on an estate near Heriot.
The police have confirmed the bird of prey was poisoned with the deadly insecticide Carbofuran and a r
eport has been submitted by the SSPCA to the procurator fiscal.
Citing other recent cases, Mr Aitchison from Stow told the monthly meeting of Scottish Borders Council: “These continuing abuses of civilised behaviour by an extremely small number of people in the Borders are doing untold harm to the reputation of our region as a nature-friendly place to holiday and visit.”
He asked SBC leader David Parker to confirm that “we, as a council, condemn this behaviour in the strongest possible terms and fully support all means taken to find the culprits and bring them to justice”.
Mr Parker told him: “SBC condemns unequivocally all such criminal behaviour that leads to the death of wildlife ... and supports all appeals through the media to ensure we try and stamp this out.
“While the council has enforcement powers with regard to animal welfare, in particular farm stock, any criminal matters concerning wildlife would be referred to the Borders wildlife crime officer of Lothian and Borders Police,” added Mr Parker.
The red kite incident is the latest of a number of rare bird poisonings, which include one of a pair of golden eagles which were reintroduced to the region in August, 2007.
In 2004, five barn owls, two buzzards, a kestrel and a tawny owl were found dead at the same estate as the red kite was discovered, although no-one was ever prosecute.
The police and animal welfare agencies say that, in Scotland, only the Highlands has a higher rate of deliberate wildlife deaths than the Borders.
