'Ghost raptor' protest over deaths

12 April 2014 Last updated at 13:56 The birds of prey include tagged red kites A public protest has been held in Inverness following the deaths of 19 birds of prey in Ross-shire.

Tests have confirmed 12 of the 19 birds were poisoned.

Scores of people marched to the city of Inverness over the deaths of 14 red kits and five buzzards. The birds have been found near Conon Bridge since 18 March.

Nineteen white cut-outs of birds dubbed "ghost raptors" were displayed during the event.

Police Scotland, RSPB Scotland, Scottish SPCA and Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) have been involved in investigating the deaths.

Members of the landowners organisation, Scottish Land & Estates, and NFU Scotland have contributed £12,000 towards a reward for information leading to the prosecution of whoever is responsible for the poisonings.

Five buzzards are among the 19 dead raptors

Many of the red kites were tagged when they were chicks as part of a conservation project. They include a 16-year-old female kite tagged in 1998.

On Friday, SNH chairman Ian Ross has described the deaths as "shocking, grim and distressing".

The killings threatened Scotland's appeal as a wildlife tourism destination, he added.

Nature-based tourism is said to be worth £1.4bn a year to the Scottish economy.

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Gorse fires 'could cause deaths'

3 May 2011 Last updated at 16:22 There were gorse fires across NI over the bank holiday weekend

Police are warning that those deliberately starting gorse fires were putting people's lives at risk and would face prosecution.

There were gorse fires across NI over the bank holiday weekend - at one stage an average of one call every 45 seconds was being received.

The worst of the blazes on Tuesday is at Glenshesk near Ballycastle.

The Mournes and Gortin were also badly affected, although the flames there have now subsided.

BBC NI reporter Alexandra McKenzie was in Ballycastle on Tuesday afternoon. She said that although fears the fire would spread to the Ballypatrick forest have not been realised, damage was nonetheless extensive.

"The fire has wiped out hundreds of acres of farmland. That will take years before it can be used again," she said.

"There are points when you drive along that you can hardly see in front of your car, you can hardly see where you're going the smoke is so thick.

"It's even difficult to breathe."

Two boys, aged 10 and 15, have been questioned by police about a gorse fire in County Tyrone.

They said they were also following up reports that a man with a petrol can was seen in the Rostrevor area on Saturday evening and that two youths were spotted lighting fires on Slieve Gullion Mountain in south Armagh on Sunday night.

Assistant Chief Constable Gary White said the thought that "individuals may be deliberately causing such destruction is very hard to comprehend".

"Not only are they putting livestock in danger, and destroying the habitat of wildlife, but as seen in the necessary evacuations in Annalong and the Lenamore Road in Omagh, homes and therefore the lives of residents are being threatened," he said.

"I would also appeal to those people who are causing the fires to think of their actions and the consequences involved which will most certainly include prosecution."

A fire on the Munie road in Ballymena on Friday is also believed to have been started deliberately. Police said it claimed around 40 acres of land and, at one stage, threatened to destroy a farm house and out buildings.

'Community problem'

Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service Chief Fire Officer Peter Craig said it had been "phenomenally busy".

"What we are highly concerned with is protecting life, property and infrastructure," he said.

"In Rostrevor, I saw a ball of flames rolling towards a property. Firefighters, the local community and property owners themselves worked extremely hard to make sure that that person's home did not go up in flames."

Mr Craig said this was a "community problem" and adults should question young people about where they are going.

"Not only are they putting the community at risk, they are putting themselves at risk," he said.

The NIFRS said the holiday weekend had been the busiest in its history.

In a 24-hour period from midday on Sunday, the fire service received 927 calls and sent appliances to a total of 376 incidents. Gorse and grassland fires accounted for 194 of these.