RAPTOR annual report incidents data

The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage publishes annual RAPTOR (Recording and Addressing Persecution and Threats to Our Raptors) reports on threats to birds of prey. This csv dataset for download here represents the tabular data that is core to those reports. It provides details of recorded incidents of human related injury and mortality in Irish birds of prey, as well as any incidents of poisoned bait or poisoning of any wildlife.

This dataset should be viewed in conjunction with its associated 2015 report which is also referenced here for download. The dataset and report is prepared by the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) in collaboration with the Regional Veterinary Labs of the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, and the State Laboratory. The report is the product of a joint Departmental initiative to investigate bird of prey deaths in Ireland. The dataset enables an appraisal of black spots, associated land-use types, methods of persecution, motives behind the persecution and the times of year at which such incidents peak. 2015 saw the largest annual number of incidents since recording began systematically in 2011. In total, 35 poison and persecution incidents were confirmed.

Poisoning falls into two general categories: accidental poisoning through the use of poison against rats and mice which then accumulates in birds that eat them, most notably red kites and barn owls; and deliberate laying of poison. The victims of poisoning and persecution since 2007 include Red Kite, Common Buzzard, Peregrine Falcon, Golden Eagle, White-tailed Sea Eagle, Sparrowhawk, Kestrel, Hen Harrier, Barn Owl and Short-eared Owl. More than a hundred other birds such as crows and pigeons were also found to have been poisoned.