Police appeal after red kite caught in illegal trap at Strathdon

Police Scotland has appealed for information after a red kite was caught in an illegally set Duke coil spring trap in the Strathdon area of Aberdeenshire. The incident happened in May, and the force said on Tuesday 15 September that extensive enquiries had been carried out before it turned to the public for help.

What did Police Scotland say about the trap?

The force said the trap “is not approved for use in Scotland”. Constable Ann Ashman, who is leading the enquiry, said: “Red kites are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act, and it is illegal to take, injure or kill a protected species.”

“Trapping a bird or animal is not only cruel, but it can also harm other wildlife and members of the public,” she added. “Enquiries are ongoing and we are appealing to anyone with information on the incident, or the use of this particular Duke coil spring trap in the area, to contact us.”

The appeal gives no detail of the bird’s condition, of exactly where the trap was set or of who holds the land, and no estate, business or individual is named.

The law on spring traps and wild birds

Duke coil spring traps are steel leg-hold traps, and Police Scotland says this one was not approved for use in Scotland. Section 5 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 makes it an offence to set in position any trap or snare of a kind calculated to cause bodily injury to a wild bird that comes into contact with it, whatever the intended target.

Since the Wildlife Management and Muirburn (Scotland) Act 2024, the use of certain traps to kill or take wild birds and animals in Scotland has also been brought under a NatureScot licensing regime, with training a condition of use. Keepers running approved spring traps for stoats and rats, and Larsen and ladder traps for corvids under general licence, operate inside that framework; a Duke coil spring trap sits outside it altogether.

Why does an illegal trap matter to grouse moors?

Strathdon lies in upper Donside, in grouse and stalking country, and the 2024 Act gives an incident like this a licensing dimension whether or not any shooting land is involved. Land over which red grouse are shot must now hold a section 16AA licence from NatureScot, and the agency may suspend or revoke a licence where it is satisfied that a relevant offence, including offences against wild birds under Part 1 of the 1981 Act, has been committed.

Nothing in the police appeal connects the trap to any shooting business, and the shooting organisations have condemned illegal trapping and raptor persecution consistently. No comment had been issued by the Scottish Gamekeepers’ Association or BASC Scotland at the time of writing.

What happens next?

Anyone with information is asked to call Police Scotland on 101, quoting incident 1053 of 18 May 2026. Information can also be given anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. Keepers and stalkers working the Strathdon ground who have seen this type of trap, or know where one was bought or set, are the people most likely to hold the detail the enquiry needs.