North Yorkshire has retained the dubious honour of being the UK's worst blackspot for killing birds of prey - a grim title it has retained for a decade.

Birdcrime 2019, a report by the RSPB, said the county had the highest number of raptor persecution incidents in the UK. It was responsible for 15 of the 85 confirmed cases.

Many of the case studies the RSPB cited were recorded in Nidderdale.

In 2019, a hen harrier was found shot dead on a grouse moor in Nidderdale. The bird, named River, had a tracking device and had two pieces of shot lodged in its body.

In the same year a red kite was also found poisoned just outside of Pateley Bridge.

The killings have continued into 2020, with the shooting of a buzzard, the poisoning of a red kite and a dog all near the town.

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Read more:

• Grouse shooting in Nidderdale: barbaric or necessary?


• Six suspected poisonings of birds of prey in Nidderdale


• ‘Nidderdale cocktail’ found in poisoned dogs in Pateley Bridge

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The report highlights how many birds of prey in the UK are shot, trapped or poisoned, despite it being a criminal offence.

The charity said there had been a spike in incidents since lockdown and called for stronger regulation, including a review of grouse shooting.

North Yorkshire Police has issued several appeals for information about the killings of birds of prey but have found it difficult to prosecute.