A peregrine has been found shot dead in Halifax, West Yorkshire. It’s body was discovered by a maintenance worker at the foot of a 200 ft chimney at a disused carpet mill.
It’s not known if the bird was shot at the mill or whether it had been shot elsewhere and finally succumbed to its injuries at the mill.
Details from the bird’s BTO leg ring identified it as a bird that had fledged from a church steeple in Devon (St Michael’s Peregrine Project, Exeter).
Article in Exeter Express & Echo here
Recently published preliminary results from the 2014 National Peregrine Survey indicate that illegal persecution of peregrines on upland grouse moors is so high it is affecting this species’ national distribution (see here).
Peregrine photo by Martin Eager
Raptor Persecution UK 
One word – disgusting.
The one slight upside of this, is that a maintenance worker actually thought to report it instead of just stuffing it in a bin bag and turfing it into a skip. That at least shows attitudes are changing. Sadly still too many people wouldn’t think that a dead bird, even a raptor, would be worth mentioning to anyone.
Good point, possibly this is an indication of growing public awareness of raptor persecution, good on him/her for doing this.