ONE of the country’s rarest birds of prey has been found poisoned at a North Yorklshire beauty spot.

The stricken red kite was found by a dog-walker as he exercised his pet in woodland at Cawthorn Roman Camps, north of Pickering.

The creature was examined by a vet and is currently being cared for at the Ryedale Wildlife Rehabilitation centre at Malton.

The species has been the subject of the longest continuous conservation project in the world, and in the 1980s was one of only three globally-threatened species in the UK.

In 1989 a reintroduction programme began with a total of 93 birds being released at sites throughout Scotland and England, with the last birds being released in 1994.

The first successful breeding was recorded in 1992 and in 1994 the birdes raised in the wild had young themselves.

However they still face the threat of illegal poiusoning - and North Yorkshire has the highest number of reports of raptor persecution in the country.

PC Stewart Ashton said "Despite it being illegal to harm birds of prey, we have intelligence that people are still actively killing them in areas of Ryedale and adjacent districts.

"Some areas of land are particularly dangerous for these birds and I would urge anyone with any information regarding their persecution, to contact North Yorkshire Police on telephone number 101.”

He added: “If anyone wishes to remain anonymous then that isn’t a problem, but we really need the community to work with the Police in trying to stamp out the illegal shooting, trapping and poisoning of these wonderful birds."

Dog-walkers have also been warned to look out for dead animals that may have been laced with poison as the poison used in these cases can often be dangerous to both humans and pet animals.

"If we receive evidence that someone is killing birds of prey, they will be arrested," said PC Ashton.