White-tailed eagles, reintroduced to Scotland and more recently England, remain at risk of illegal poisoning from carbofuran and other illegal substances placed in the environment by those who view large raptors as threats to livestock and game.
Carbofuran poisoning causes rapid and agonising death through cholinesterase inhibition, resulting in convulsions, respiratory failure, and cardiac arrest. Poisoned eagles die alone, often after consuming baited carcasses placed deliberately to target them. The slow death is extremely painful. Each poisoning event removes an apex predator from a recovering population and represents a deliberate act of animal cruelty.