Police probe underway after protected bird of prey fatally shot in Inverness area
Police and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) are appealing for information about the shooting, which took place in Inverness.
The male bird was found by a member of the public in the Cradlehall area on Thursday, March 6.
An investigations officer from the RSPB collected the bird the next day so it could be sent for testing.
A post-mortem by a vet has revealed the sparrowhawk was shot in the chest with a shotgun.
It was determined the bird could have died from starvation and infection some distance from where it was shot.
Ian Thomson, head of investigations for RSPB Scotland, said: 'Sparrowhawks are one of the birds of prey you or I are most likely to encounter, as they live alongside us in parks and gardens.
'They hunt small birds by stealth and can be identified by their brilliantly piercing yellow eyes.
'The presence of sparrowhawks and other birds of prey is a good indicator of a healthy and balanced ecosystem.
'This bird was shot with a shotgun, resulting in a drawn-out and painful death.
'Few people have access to such weapons.
'Even fewer are motivated to shoot at protected birds of prey.'
All wild birds are legally protected and anyone found to have killed or injured one faces an unlimited fine or even jail.
Anyone who has information which could help identify a suspect is asked to call police on 101, quoting incident number CR/0132125/25.
Any other suspicious deaths or injuries to birds of prey should be reported to police and the RSPB.
Thomas Plant, of the Inverness Urban Sparrowhawk Project, added: 'We are absolutely devastated to hear that someone has shot one of these beautiful and majestic birds.
'He is one we may have been monitoring this year here in Inverness.
'As part of our voluntary monitoring we have been checking nest sites and colour-ringing Sparrowhawks.
'To do that we have had support and funding from the Highland Raptor Study Group.
'We hope that this will help to improve understanding of the local Sparrowhawk population, their movements, lifespans and the threats that they face.'
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