The Scottish government has released a report which shows confirmed wildlife poisonings have dropped in 2011 compared to previous years. However, the report does reveal birds of prey, wild mammals, livestock and pet dogs have all been victims of accidental or deliberate poisonings last year.

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The findings were unveiled as part of Scotland's Wildlife Incident Investigation Scheme (WIIS); they were made public in a report issued by Scottish Government’s Science and Advice for Scottish Agriculture (SASA). The report shows a significant fall in the number of confirmed abuse instances – down 50 per cent from 32 in 2010 to 16 in 2011.

Birds of Prey remain the biggest victims of deliberate poisoning; this illegal and indiscriminate practice resulted in the death of seven buzzards, a golden eagle, two peregrine falcons, four red kites and two sparrowhawks in 2011.

Earlier this month, a farm manager from Argyll was prosecuted for possession of a banned pesticide after the discovery of a dead golden eagle in late 2011 led police to search the farm. Auche Estate manager Tom McKellar claimed he was using the poison to kill foxes.   

There was a slight increase in number of investigations carried out, the SASA report revealed; incidents which required investigation rose from 233 in 2010 to 237 in 2011.

Commenting on the report on Friday (21st September), Environment Minister Paul Wheelhouse said, "Scotland's natural environment is one of our most valuable assets not only for tourism but also for the well being of our nation. It is essential that we protect it and ensure that it is a safe place to be for all users as well as wildlife and domestic animals. Ensuring that legitimate pesticides are used correctly whilst the use of illegal substances are policed is key and this will help avoid tragic cases of accidental poisonings. Illegal and incorrect usage of pesticides is totally unacceptable.”

He described the report’s findings as "encouraging” and added “I am particularly pleased to see the number of abuse cases decreasing by 50 per cent in one year. While, earlier this year, we welcomed a reduction in the number of poisoning cases involving birds of prey, we should not rest until all such poisonings are eliminated. There is a lot of good work going on behind the scenes by all partners and I hope that will pay dividends and ensure the number of poisoning continues on this downward trend, leading to the end of this outdated, dangerous and cruel practice."

However, Duncan Orr-Ewing, RSPB Scotland’s Head of Species and Land Management, said that efforts to curtail poisonings must be stepped up. He said that a look at the figures reveals there are still ‘hotspots’ where poisoning is continuing in Scotland. The RSPB has previously called for tighter controls on a number of more dangerous agricultural chemicals, as vogues develop for the use of certain chemicals by poisoners.

Mr Orr-Ewing said, "We welcome efforts by land management interests to reduce, and hopefully in time eliminate, the devastating impacts of illegal poisoning on protected bird of prey species. However, from these 2011 SASA figures, it is clear that in some parts of the country there are still problems impacting golden eagles, red kites and other vulnerable species. We call on the public to be vigilant and report suspected illegal poisoning incidents to the police."

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