Thinking about the recent postings of raptor corpses found during the recent spell of bad weather, I contacted Natural Resources Wales to find out if, and where, corpses can be analysed to possibly help determine cause of death.
It is worth knowing that there is a Predatory Bird Monitoring Scheme. This is run by the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (CEH) at Lancaster where they can undertake toxicology analyses of specimens sent to them. Their website is: The Predatory Bird Monitoring Scheme (ceh.ac.uk).
Current funding only allows for analysis of Barn Owl, Sparrowhawk, Kestrel and Red Kite samples. Other species are analysed when time and funding permits; these include Buzzard and Tawny Owl.
All birds of prey, suspected wildlife poisoning, are analysed under the Welsh Government wildlife incident investigation scheme (WIIS). If illegal persecution is suspected, these should be reported to https://gov.wales/report-suspected-wildlife-poisoning-incident
Bob