The stock market dropped like a rock Thursday as investors weighed mixed earnings news and continue to worry about credit markets after financing was pulled from a big buyout deal. At midday on Thursday, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 207.12 points, or 1.5%, to 13,577.95. The broader S&P 500 moved below the 1,500 mark, down 1.79%, or 27.12 points, to 1,490.97. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite was off 1.62%, or 42.94 points, to 2,605.23. Stocks were broadly lower, with 28 stocks...
Harrods chief ‘devastated’ by poisoning of rare birds
July 26th, 2007
MOHAMED al-Fayed, the chairman of Harrods, yesterday said he was devastated by the poisoning of three rare birds of prey which were reared on his Highland estate.
Another eight birds are unaccounted for and are also feared to have been killed.
The birds were among 16 red kites brought to the Black Isle as chicks last year as part of a programme to reintroduce the species to Scotland.
They were later taken to Mr Fayed’s Balnagown Estate in Ross-shire, where they were kept under controlled conditions before being released at three-months-old after being fitted with radio transmitters to track their progress.
One bird was found dead near Tomintoul in May in a case investigated by Grampian Police. Another two have been discovered in Strathspey and Lochaber.
All were poisoned with the insecticide carbofuran, which was banned in 2001.
The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) said the deaths highlighted a major persecution problem, with 40 per cent of young red kites in the Highlands being poisoned.
This is the third year the birds have been reared at Balnagown, and Mr Fayed has taken a personal interest in the project.
His spokesman said: “He was really pleased to help in this project. The birds were on the point of returning to nests in the area from where they were released.
“He is extremely sad about this. However, he will continue with the project.”
Gordon Robertson, the estate factor, added: “I don’t know what planet people who poison the birds are on. Red kites are carrion eaters, they don’t kill. I thought the Victorian days of killing everything with a hooked beak were gone.”
Brian Etheridge, the RSPB’s red kite project officer, said the red kite population in the north of Scotland had remained static at about 40 pairs for the last five years, despite 600 chicks being produced since 1992, including 80 last year.
He added: “At least 40 per cent have been deliberately poisoned on sporting estates, which is a shocking statistic. The people who are putting out this poison know it’s illegal and have complete disregard for the law. It may be a criminal minority, but they are having a profound effect.”
Mr Etheridge said the eight missing birds could be in areas where the transmitter signal cannot be picked up, but could also be dead.
Alex Hogg, chairman of the Scottish Gamekeepers’ Association (SGA), said: “When the perpetrators of this crime are brought to justice, the SGA will be the first organisation to condemn them, bearing in mind people out there with a grudge against sporting estates could be up to all sorts of mischief.”
Last month, a report found that the number of animals or birds killed by pesticide misuse in 2006 was at its highest level since 1994.
The Scottish Agricultural Science Agency said poisons were deliberately misused in 39 cases, with carbofuran detected in 82 per cent of incidents.
Related topic
- «news.scotsman.com»
http://news.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=270
« Daily Report: Focus on New Homes Sales and Durables, Kiwi Tumbles after RBNZ Hike
Action Insight | Written by ActionForex.com | Jul 26 07 08:09 GMT | Forex Daily Technical Report Focus on New Homes Sales and Durables, Kiwi Tumbles after RBNZ Hike Dollar is generally firm and sets to continue the current recovery as markets are turning focus to today’s new home sales and durable goods orders data. As pointed out before, the greenback was in extremely oversold condition and the current correction is inevitable. Even if today’s data disappoints, reaction could...