PROTECTED wildlife has been poisoned in the Yorkshire Dales.

North Yorkshire Police are investigating after a red kite was found dead at Lofthouse Moor, and was later found to have been poisoned by a combination of banned pesticides.

The incident occurred in May, and a post-mortem examination was carried out at the Veterinary Laboratory Agency in Thirsk, with samples sent to the Food and Environment Agency at Sutton Hutton, near York, which proved the cause of death, and also found the bird had eaten rodents which had been poisoned using commonly available rat and mouse poison.

PC Gareth Jones, a Wildlife Officer for North Yorkshire Police, said: “It is a great shame that another red kite has been killed in North Yorkshire, particularly as they are an endangered species and have only recently returned to the county. These birds should be cherished and North Yorkshire Police’s Wildlife Crime Unit takes this kind of incident extremely seriously.”

Anyone with information which could help police with the investigation should phone 101, Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555111, or the RSPB’s confidential reporting line on 0845 4663636.