Golden eagles remain under pressure from illegal persecution including poisoning and shooting on grouse moors, limiting their recovery across the Scottish Highlands.
Poison-related deaths cause intense suffering in golden eagles. Carbofuran, an illegal insecticide used as a bait poison, causes convulsions, respiratory failure, and death in birds that consume poisoned carcasses. Lead poisoning from ingested lead shot accumulated in deer carcasses causes sublethal neurological impairment and progressive weakness over weeks before death. Shot eagles may suffer injuries that prevent normal hunting, leading to starvation. The persistent pattern of eagle disappearances in specific management areas indicates ongoing deliberate persecution that causes direct, preventable animal suffering on a landscape scale.