AN investigation has been launched after tests confirmed a red kite found dead in North Yorkshire had been poisoned with a pesticide.

And the discovery has prompted a warning about the illegal and dangerous practice of lacing animal carcasses with poison to kill other wildlife.

The dead bird was found by a member of the public just outside the village of Ferrensby between Knaresborough and Boroughbridge last December.

The tests showed the bird had significant amounts of chloralose, a pesticide, in its kidney - and that was the cause of death.

The bird would have succumbed within a few minutes of consuming the poison, however it could have carried the bait for some distance before eating it. The location where it picked up the poison is therefore not known.

The practice of lacing animal carcasses with poison to kill other wildlife is illegal. It is also poses a serious risk to members of the public and their children or pets if they come into contact with them.

Sergeant Kevin Kelly, of the rural taskforce, said: “It is completely unacceptable that people think they can ignore the law and subject these birds to poisonings and other forms of persecution without consequence."

To help the inquiry call 101.