A MAN who helped bring back Red Kites to Yorkshire has slammed recent killings of the birds as a tragedy.

Yorkshire Red Kite Co-ordinator Doug Simpson MBE is also warning that whoever has been leaving the poisoned bait responsible for the deaths is putting human lives at risk, too.

A police appeal was launched last week after the body of one of the large birds of prey, which Mr Simpson helped reintroduce in the area ten years ago, was found in woods at Lindley Green.

Tests showed that the female kite had survived shotgun pellet wounds but had died from Carburofan and rat poisoning.

Mr Simpson, of Harrogate, says the case represents the fourth known case of kite poisoning in the Washburn Valley and fears those responsible have little qualms about what they are doing.

He said: “I consider this tragic, and not just in the sense that these beautiful birds are being killed but that it should be happening in such a small area around Leathley and Lindley Green.

“There have been 16 kites in Yorkshire now that have been killed by poisoned baits, and these are only the ones we know about, five or six of which were found purely by luck.

“There could have been more kites, along with buzzards and anything else that feeds on carrion, killed too.

“I don’t think any of the red kite deaths in this area have been deliberate, they’re just the accidental victims of poisoned bait that’s been illegally put out to kill crows, rabbits or foxes.

“But that emphasises why using poison in the open is illegal - it's indiscriminate, potentially lethal and it poses a danger to humans as well as protected species and other animals.

“It’s very difficult to actually track down who is responsible just from the bird’s body, so we’ve got to hope that peer pressure, and an awareness of how deeply people feel about this, might deter them from doing it again.”

The four kite poisonings in the Washburn Valley area have taken place over the last nine years, with one bird killed in 2001, two in 2007 and one this year.

The deaths hang a shadow over what has otherwise been a very successful reintroduction project for a species that had almost been wiped out in the UK.

The first reintroduced Red Kites in the area were released on the Harewood Estate a decade ago and now some 550 birds have been raised in Yorkshire nests.

Primarily carrion eaters, the birds are larger than buzzards with wingspans of up to 5ft and have distinctive looking forked tails.

North Yorkshire Police are investigating the poisoning – anyone with information can contact PC Gareth Jones on 0845 60 60 247 or call the anonymous and confidential Crimestoppers number, 0800 555 111.

Mr Simpson now has a website running, www.yorkshireredkites.net, which contains advice on what to do if you find a dead or injured bird.