Thank you for contacting me about white-tailed eagles.
I would like to assure you that my ministerial colleagues and I believe that white-tailed eagles belong in the UK. To support the reintroduction of the species, I know that Natural England issued a licence for a ten-year project to release the species at a site in Norfolk. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs also provided funding to support the white-tailed eagle reintroduction project on the Isle of Wight led by the Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation. The project aims to reintroduce up to 60 eagles to the Isle of Wight over a five-year period. I was pleased to welcome this news in 2019. As a result of decades of conservation work, including reintroductions and increased protections, the white-tailed eagle has been helped off the UK Red List for birds.
I share your concerns to hear that two of these white-tailed eagles released on the Island have recently been found dead. I welcome that police are investigating these deaths, with post-mortem and toxicological examinations taking place.
Further, the Government takes all wildlife crime seriously and significant sanctions are available to judges to hand down to those convicted of wildlife crimes, with most wildlife crimes carrying up to an unlimited fine and/or a six-month custodial sentence. To address concerns about the illegal killing of birds of prey, senior Government and enforcement officers have identified raptor persecution as a national wildlife crime priority. Defra sits on the police-led Raptor Persecution Priority Delivery Group, which takes forward activities to raise awareness and facilitate intelligence and incident reporting, leading to increased prevention and enforcement activity.
Finally, as part of the Government’s commitment to leave the environment in a better state than we found it, the Environment Act will set a new legally binding target to halt the decline of species abundance by 2030. I hope that through continued collaborative working, we will see the recovery of many native species, including the white-tailed eagle.
Thank you again for taking the time to contact me.