Police fear as many as 10 protected birds of prey might have been poisoned

Police who swooped on an Invernesshire sporting estate yesterday fear that up to 10birds of prey may have been poisoned there.

The raid on the 25,000-acre Moy Estate 10 miles south of Inverness by 25 officers was triggered when the signal from a satellite-tagged red kite, which was adopted by a local primary school, indicated it had stopped moving.

Houses, outbuildings and vehicles were searched throughout yesterday and estate staff were interviewed.

At one point, police officers removed several large plastic evidence bags from a house next to the old A9 road at Moy village.

It is understood that items removed included bird carcasses and weapons.

Officers also searched a gamekeeper’s house and kennels on the estate, the seat of the chief of the Clan Mackintosh, which hosts the Highland Sports and Leisure Fair every August.

No one from the estate could be contacted for comment yesterday.

Police said they acted after receiving intelligence about the area, and red kites and other birds of prey had been found dead at Moy in recent weeks.

A dead grouse found there some days ago tested positive for poison. Poisoned bait was also found two to three weeks ago at Moy, it emerged.

Officers would not confirm which other species were discovered, describing them only as “protected birds of prey”.

It is believed they included merlins and sparrowhawks.

The dead birds will be sent for analysis at specialist laboratories.

Northern Constabulary’s Inverness area commander, Chief Inspector Andy MacLean, said he could not say how many birds were involved as investigations were ongoing.

He said: “Red kites and other birds of prey have been found on this estate during the past month and are known to have been poisoned.

“The birds will be sent for analysis and the results will form part of the investigation.”

He added that the raid, and the large number of officers involved, was a sign that the force took wildlife crime very seriously.

He described it as a “blight” on the environment.

He added: “As far as we are concerned, if there is evidence of a crime on this estate, we will make inquiries as to who is responsible for that.

“If there is evidence to charge somebody, we will do so.”

The police went to Moy in a fleet of vehicles supported by 20 representatives from the RSPB, Scottish SPCA, Scottish Natural Heritage, the National Wildlife Crime Unit, and the Scottish Government Rural Payments and Inspectorate.

RSPB Scotland director Stuart Housden said: “Serious crimes against our most spectacular birds and wildlife are utterly deplorable, and do major harm to our reputation as a country that values and cares for its wildlife and natural environment.

“There is a growing body of compelling evidence which abundantly demonstrates the scale and impact that illegal poisoning is having on the populations of iconic birds of prey such as the red kite and golden eagle.

“The perpetrators of these crimes must be pursued with the full vigour of the law.

Estate owner Celia Mackintosh, the widow of Lieutenant Commander Lachlan Mackintosh of Mackintosh, was one of 200 Scottish estate owners who signed a letter last month publicly condemning those who illegally poison birds.

The letter was sent to Environment Minister Roseanna Cunningham after the remains of three golden eagles, a buzzard and a sparrowhawk were found on or near the grounds of Skibo Castle, near Dornoch in Sutherland.

Police are trying to establish if they were poisoned.

Lt Cdr Mackintosh, the former clan chief, died on Christmas Day 1995 and his widow continues to run the estate. The couple’s son, John Lachlan, is the current clan chief and is understood to live in Singapore.

Wild garden birds prefer non-organic food to organic

British researchers found that birds such as robins and house sparrows "instinctively" preferred non-organic seeds to the more naturally grown varieties as it appeared to provide them with greater nutritional value through the cold months.

When offered both varieties of wheat seed, they were able to discern between the two and ate up to 20 per cent more of the conventional grown variety than the organic.
That worked out at about 70 grams more a week per garden.

Even when the grain in the feeders were switched around, the birds soon were able to spot the difference and again settled on the more intensively farmed seeds.

Dr Ailsa McKenzie, lead researcher based at Newcastle University's School of Biology, said the findings are likely to add to the debate over the relative merits of consuming organic food.

"Our results suggest that the current dogma that organic food is preferred to conventional food may not always be true," she said.

"We have long lost our instinctive ability to know which food is the most nutritious for us but birds have not. They instinctively chose the non-organic food."

To carry out the three-year study the Newcastle team set up feeding stations in more than 30 gardens across the North of England.

Organic and non-organic wheat seeds (both of the same variety) were placed in adjacent bird feeders and then the rate at which the birds ate the different seeds was monitored over a six-week period.

Half way through the experiment the feeders were swapped around.

The experiment was repeated in a second winter with different wheat samples.

The birds showed a strong preference for the conventional seed, eating significantly more of this than the organic.

When the feeder positions were switched, the birds learnt the new position of the conventional seed and continued to select it in preference to the organic.

Analysis of the wheat found the conventionally grown seeds to have an average 10 per cent higher protein content than the organic seeds.

This the researchers said was common in most foods as chemical fertiliser was much more efficient than natural fertilisers such as manure.

"Protein is an essential nutrient in the diet of all birds and mammals and getting enough of it – especially in winter – can be hard," said Dr McKenzie.

"We showed that when given free choice, wild birds opt for the conventional food over the organic, and the most likely explanation is its higher protein content.

"This study is only looking at one aspect of the organic food debate – it does not take into account the long-term health implications of using chemical fertilisers and pesticides, or the often negative environmental impact of conventional farming; for example, other work has shown that pesticides can strongly reduce availability of seeds for birds.

"But it does raise questions about the nutritional benefits of organic food and what consumers are being led to believe."

Global demand for organic produce is increasing by £4 billion annually – the organic market now accounts for between two and three per cent of food purchased in Europe and the US.

One key reason why consumers buy organic food is because they consider it to be better for human and animal health.

While this may be the case, these are not necessarily the only factors governing food choice in animals and birds.

Other differences between the samples – such as mycotoxin levels, grain size, energy content or pesticide residues – could not explain the preferences shown by the birds.

The garden bird work was confirmed by laboratory studies on canaries, also showing a significant preference for conventional over organically grown seeds.

Dr McKenzie said: "Conventionally grown crops tend to contain significantly higher levels of protein than those grown organically due to the application of inorganic nitrogen fertilisers in conventional farming systems.

"This makes our findings potentially applicable across many food types and suggests the issues surrounding organic food are not as cut and dried as some might think."

The findings are published in the Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture.

A spokesman for the Soil Association said: "The UK Government’s own advisors found that bird life is up to 50% greater on organic farms showing that most birds do choose organic. Animals like chimpanzees and even rats have been shown to prefer organic food. This study has absolutely no bearing on whether organic food is better for human health or not."

UK 2010 General Election

The Labour Party won the 2005 UK general election with 35.3% of the popular British vote. The Conservative Party was just a few points behind with 32.3% of the votes, but because of the first past the post voting system, the Labour Party had a significant majority with 356 parliamentary seats (MPs) compared to 198 seats for The Conservative Party.

Just over 4 years on with political scandal after scandal, all political polls point to a Conservative win at the 2010 general election with speculation of a possible Hung Parliament (rare in British politics).

Health Tips - 10 Easy Ways to Lose Weight

Losing weight is known to be difficult to do, but it can actually be quite simple if you break the process down into smaller segments. This type of gradual push in the right direction will become lifestyle changes you can live with instead of a diet you give up after a few weeks.
Health and Beauty Tips - 10 Easy Ways to Lose Weight
1. Preparation
The Mayo Clinic advises people to make sure they are ready for weight loss before they take the big step into the actual process. Make sure you really want to change and that you have rid yourself of distractions, such as goodies in the cupboard and friends that goad you into eating fattening foods. This preparation will make your weight loss easier.
2. Choose a Start Date
Make a date for fitness, and choose the day when you will start your weight loss. Mark the date down on your calendar. Tell friends. Dedicate the day as the first day of the rest of your healthy life. This will make your commitment real and more likely to succeed.
3. Set Goals
Goals help motivate you and boost your self-esteem when you reach them, making you want to keep going. Write down a small, manageable goal that you can achieve quickly to start. For example, "I will lose 3 lbs. this month." It may not sound like much, but think of your small goals as stepping stones.
4. Chart Your Progress
Keeping track of your progress is another way to motivate yourself. Try hanging a piece of paper on the wall and for every pound you lose, add an "X" to the paper. As the paper fills with Xs, you'll feel more empowered to go on.
5. Eat Breakfast
You may think you are saving calories by not eating breakfast, but skipping breakfast may be the most fattening thing you do all day. According to Katherine Zeratsky, R.D., L.D., of the Mayo Clinic, eating breakfast keeps you from overeating later in the day and gives you enough energy to be active throughout the day.
6. Count Calories
This tip is an old one, but it is still worthwhile. Make sure to keep track of how many calories you consume during the day. Being accountable for what you eat can make you eat less.
7. Cut Back
One pound of fat is equal to 3,500 calories. If you cut about 500 calories from your daily intake, you will lose 1 lb. a week, a healthy goal. Trim your calories by cutting out dessert, a high-calorie snack or by not going back for seconds.
8. Burn It Off
To boost your weight loss, aim to burn an extra 500 calories a day, or that magic 3,500 calories a week, through exercise. Riding a bicycle helps a lot.
9. Eat More Fiber
Fiber-filled foods are lower in calories and fills you up so that you do not eat as many calories. It also keeps you fuller, longer.
10. Drink More Water
Water can fill you up when you want to munch on something you shouldn't. Water is also essential for burning calories. Try to aim for eight 8-oz. glasses of water a day.

Calls to ban trans-fats from all foods in the UK

Trans-fats - solid fats found in margarines, cakes and fast food - are banned in some countries.

But the Food Standards Agency said the UK's low average consumption made a complete ban unnecessary.

In January this year, the UK Faculty of Public Health called for the consumption of trans-fats (also know as trans fatty acids) to be virtually eliminated.

It says that although trans-fats make up 1% of the average UK adult food energy intake - below the 2% advised as a dangerous level - there are sections of the population where intake is far higher and these lemy's groups.

In the BMJ article, doctors from Harvard Medical School backed this view and said bans in Denmark and New York City had effectively eliminated trans-fats, without reducing food availability, taste, or affordability.

Heart health

Many studies have shown harmful effects of trans-fats on heart health.

They are used to extend shelf-life but have no nutritional value and, like saturated fats, they raise blood cholesterol levels which increase the risk of coronary heart disease.

The BMJ article also points out there is no evidence that such legislation leads to harm from increased use of saturated fats.

The doctors wrote that based on current disease rates, a strategy to reduce consumption of trans-fats by even 1% of total energy intake would be expected to prevent 11,000 heart attacks and 7,000 deaths annually in England alone.

TRANS-FATS
They are partially hydrogenated vegetable oils, turning oily foods into semi-solid foods
Used to extend shelf life of products
Can raise levels of "bad" cholesterol
Even a small reduction in consumption can cut heart disease
They have no nutritional benefit

Commenting on the article, Professor Alan Maryon-Davis, president of the UK Faculty of Public Health, said: "There are great differences in the amount of trans-fats consumed by different people and we are particularly concerned about young people and those with little disposable income who eat a lot of this type of food.

"This is a major health inequalities issue."

In 2007, the Food Standards Agency carried out a review of trans-fats and concluded UK consumption was lower than countries such as the US and that voluntary action from food manufacturers had been highly successful.

They said current UK average consumption "was not a concern".

Victoria Taylor, senior heart health dietician at the British Heart Foundation, said UK voluntary measures by the food industry had achieved significant reductions in the amount of trans-fats in food.

Barbara Gallani, director of food safety and science at the Food and Drink Federation, said: "We agree that it is important to maintain a healthily balanced diet in which trans-fats are consumed within the safe levels recommended by the FSA and that is why artificial trans-fats have been virtually eliminated from processed foods in the UK."

"This is good progress but we still need to do more to make sure that the industrially produced trans-fats don't creep back into our nation's diets."

New car sales were up by 26.6% last March

Paul Everitt, chief executive of the SMMT, said: The UK bicycle and car industry has enjoyed a better than anticipated first quarter of 2010.

In the final month of the scrappage scheme, which offered motorists £2000 off the price of a new car and bicycle when trading in an old model, 397,383 new cars and cheap dunlop mountain bike were registered in the UK.

However, Everitt also warned the industry that the coming months will remain challenging and headline registration numbers are expected to dip, although he remained positive that underlying demand would continue to improve slowly.

Missing link between humans and their apelike ancestors has been discovered

The new species of hominid, the evolutionary branch of primates that includes humans, is to be revealed when the two million year old skeleton of a child is unveiled this week.

Professor Phillip Tobias, an eminent human anatomist and anthropologist at the university who was one of three experts to first identify Homo habilis as a new species of human in 1964, described the latest discovery as "wonderful" and "exciting".

Scientists believe the almost-complete fossilised skeleton belonged to a previously-unknown type of early human ancestor that may have been a intermediate stage as ape-men evolved into the first species of advanced humans, Homo habilis.

Experts who have seen the skeleton say it shares characteristics with Homo habilis, whose emergence 2.5 million years ago is seen as a key stage in the evolution of our species.

The new discovery could help to rewrite the history of human evolution by filling in crucial gaps in the scientific knowledge.

Most fossilised hominid remains are little more than scattered fragments of bone, so the discovery of an almost-complete skeleton will allow scientists to answer key questions about what our early ancestors looked like and when they began walking upright on two legs.

Palaeontologists and human evolutionary experts behind the discovery have remained silent about the exact details of what they have uncovered, but the scientific community is already abuzz with anticipation of the announcement of the find when it is made on Thursday.

The skeleton was found by Professor Lee Berger, from the University of the Witwatersrand, while exploring cave systems in the Sterkfontein region of South Africa, near Johannesburg, an area known as "the Cradle of Humanity".

The find is deemed to be so significant that Jacob Zuma, the South African president, has visited the university to view the fossils and a major media campaign with television documentaries is planned.

Although not directly involved in the excavation and subsequent research on the fossils, he is one of the select few scientists outside the research group who have been able to see the skeletons.

He said: "To find a skeleton as opposed to a couple of teeth or an arm bone is a rarity.

"It is one thing to find a lower jaw with a couple of teeth, but it is another thing to find the jaw joined onto the skull, and those in turn uniting further down with the spinal column, pelvis and the limb bones.

"It is not a single find, but several specimens representing several individuals. The remains now being brought to light by Dr Berger and his team are wonderful."

The new fossil skeleton was found along with a number of other partially-complete fossils, encased within breccia sedimentary rock inside a limestone cave known as Malapa cave.

The protection from the elements provided by the cave is thought to have played a large part in keeping the fossils so well preserved.

The fossil record of early humans is notoriously patchy and scientists now hope that the that the new remains will provide fresh clues about how our species evolved.

Scientists believe that a group of apelike hominids known as Australopithicus, which first emerged in Africa around 3.9 million years ago, gradually evolved into the first Homo species.

Over time the Australopithicus species lost their more apelike features as they started to stand upright and their brain capacity increased.

Around 2.5 million years ago Homo habilis, the first species to be described as distinctly human, began to appear, although only a handful of specimens have ever been found.

It is thought that the new fossil to be unveiled this week will be identified as a new species that fits somewhere between Australopithicus and Homo habilis.

If it is confirmed as a missing link between the two groups, it would be of immense scientific importance, helping to fill in a gap in the evolutionary history of modern man.

Dr Simon Underdown, an expert on human evolution at Oxford Brookes University, said the new find could help scientists gain a better understanding of our evolutionary tree.

He said: "A find like this could really increase our understanding of our early ancestors at a time when they first started to become recognisable as human."

The discovery is the most important find from Sterkfontein since an almost-complete fossil of a 3.3 million year old Australopithecus, nicknamed Little Foot, was found in 1994.

Another major discovery was the well-preserved skull of a 2.15 million year old Australopithecus africanus, nicknamed Mrs Ples, in 1947.

Finding almost complete fossilised skeletons of human ancestors is particularly prized by the scientific community.

The presence of a pelvis and complete limb bones would allow scientists to unravel the posture and method of walking used by the extinct species.

"If this new specimen is more complete and provides better information, all those models about locomotive behaviour will have a chance to really go under scrutiny and refined."

Dr Kevin Kuykendall, a palaeoanthropologist at Sheffield University, said such finds were essential in helping to fill in the gaps in our knowledge about human ancestors.

He said: "The information we have right now is probably only based on a few hundred individuals through out the whole world, but some of these are single isolated teeth.

If the specimen also contains hand bones, it could provide clues about the species' dexterity and such evidence will prove crucial in determining when the ability of modern humans to handle stone tools first emerged.