Why the hell would some fool wanna kill them ?

they were big enough targets for whatever ignorant fools decided to kill them, i dont know which is worse 1. that the birds were killed or 2. if the morons responsible are caught, they will get a small fine, probably less than it cost them to kill the eagles

Disgusting carry on.

Hope they catch the bastards and poison them!

How very sad that in this day and age there are people out there who have no morals and even less common sense. I hope that whoever did this, will be found and punished to the full extent of the law. Harsher penalties need to be made in order to stop this from happening again and again.

Will this persecution only end when these magnificent birds are driven from our shores for a second time?
If this happens it would be a tragedy not just for the birds but for the country as a whole, and would be a sad indictment of us as a community.

Absolutely sickening behaviour! The person or persons who did this deserve a lengthy prison sentence!!! The Norwegians won’t give us any more and deservedly so!!! These birds are great in every aspect, tourism education to name but a few. But sadly a minority of bastards are determined to see them extinct again!!!

I remember seeing about 6 or 7 blackbirds on my street, dying on the ground from poison. Crows and cats were trying to get at them, I was scaring them away. Only 3 were still breathing, so I took them down to the local vet – but he couldn’t do anything for them, and put them down peacefully for free. It was all quite sad. It’s farmers who are doing this.. I get very sentimental when it comes to suffering of animals. Seeing those poor little birds laying on the ground helpless was terrible.

Anyone shooting or poisoning anything as great as an Eagle should be locked up. It’s bang out of order.

The vast majority of farmers in Ireland are law abiding citizens but there is a minority who – and I dare say we have all met the type – think they can act against the wishes of the majority without recourse. It is sad because it sullies the good name of the law abiding farmer and collectively gives them a bad name when that isn’t the truth of the matter.

I’d call on the Parks and Wildlife service to carry out forensics on the bullets used. If the firearm is legally held they may be able to trace it’s owner and take action.

But this alone won’t solve the bigger problem. The Parks and Wildlife service need to set up a scheme to compensate farmers for any lambs killed by eagles. That way farmers might think twice about laying poison and do the right thing. The GPS tags on the eagle mean it could be verified if the it was on their land so as to ensure the scheme wouldn’t be abused.

The spate of murders of these fine birds is embarrassing to Ireland as a nation and if it continues the Norwegians will stop donating them.

Do certain people just hate wildlife I hope they catch whoever did this

It makes my blood boil this shit,redneck tossers without a brain cell in there heads

Welcome to rural Ireland where rules do not matter if they interfere with your wishes.

Last year, for example, my neighbour (rightly) could not get his hedge cut because it was the breeding time for birds: meanwhile across the road the landowners (builders, not farmers) cut and slashed hedges, trees etc. And the reaction of The National Parks and Wildlife Service? “I’ll have a word with them”!
The NPWS – and local authorities – do not want to take action against offenders.

There’s no way to justify killing such magnificent birds

Another example of people with small brains and big guns thinking they can do what they want. If an IQ test was mandatory for gun owners I think gun licences would be halved. Granted there may be some intelligent people owning guns but there as rare as white-tailed eagles.

it really is deplorable. morons killing a majestic creature like that. so disappointed. I love birds.

Very sad ! A disgrace really . There is no argument ‘ for ‘ killing these birds .! People who approve of this are ignorant morons .!

I’m guessing Tom from Father Ted is the kinda redneck that would shoot an eagle. I hope they get caught and pay dearly.

There is a chance the eagle ate another poisoned animal – for example a poisoned dying rat would be easier for the eagle to catch. However, that doesn’t explain the gunshot wounds of course. A very sad story.

For gods sake these are majestic animals it takes one hell of an ignorant person to do this. Clearly the act of a farmer.

This is clearly the work of some thick inbred

Riiiight so someone woke up and said to themselves, I’m off to kill me some eagles today. Beggars belief really.

Can some of the people who are disliking the comments expressing disgust at the killing of these birds on this news story please explain why so? Do you think it is a good thing that the eagles were poisoned? Please explain.

Any unnecessary killing of any animal is sick. This makes me sad.

Now don’t shoot me for this, or poison me. I’m explaining, not excusing.

There is a different mentality in rural Ireland, especially on the western seaboard, than in Wales and Norway and other parts of Europe.
There is little concept of the ‘countryside’ as an entity in it’s own right.

Farmers don’t generally allow anything on their land which does not financially profit themselves personally. Field monuments like ráths, eagles, walkers may all profit the tourist industry but the traditional western smallholder doesn’t care for that, just himself.

Only a tiny minority you say?

Hmm. well I didn’t hear Lorcán from the Eagle Trust get any sympathy on Raidíó na Gaeltachta this morning.

And have any local politicians condemned it?

The only real deterrent is detection and gaol/ large fines for those who injure the many for personal benefit. But we don’t do that in Ireland.

How are these birds a threat to farmers??

These b……s must be the same type that mutilate animals, cutting ears off donkeys etc. They all must be missing a gene through interbreeding,one that allows you to have a basic sense of morals and consciousness !

It is disgraceful to think that these beautiful creatures were murdered. Just bloody disgraceful.

They have stopped!!! Fact! By the way they don’t eat lambs as suspected by backward hillbilly hick farmers.

It is sad that these birds have been killed. unless your a vegetarian yourself, you can’t sit all high & mighty, saying killing is wrong. A calf, lamb, chicken, piglet etc & their adult counterparts are just as entitled to life as an eagle. If beauty or rarity meant a superior entitlement to life, then imagine that rule applied to our Ambulances & Hospitals.

On problem for raptors is the poisoning of rats and other rodents by people. The rats are often picked up an eaten by raptors who then die from the poison the rat consumed.

Hello