It is one of the most elegant and graceful of Britain's birds of prey, boasting unmistakable reddish brown plumage, angled wings and a distinctive forked tail. But, despite one of the world's longest-running reintroduction programmes, the red kite has again begun to disappear from Scotland's skies.

Ornithologists fear that up to 40 per cent of Scotland's red kites have been poisoned, victims of gamekeepers and grouse moor owners anxious to protect their prized stocks of game birds from predation.

In a new analysis of red kite numbers, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) reports that more than 300 of the 395 red kites that bred in Scotland between 1999 and 2003 have disappeared. And up to 185 of those, it alleges, were probably illegally poisoned with controlled pesticides, snared or shot.

Ironically, the red kites are rarely targeted specifically by gamekeepers because unlike the hen harrier, they do not prey directly on grouse. But as voracious scavengers the kites are at high risk of eating poisoned meat allegedly laid down by game bird shooting operations anxious to protect their businesses. The RSPB says the scale of the problem is underscored by unpublished data which shows that the number of proven poisoning cases in Scotland rose from 19 in 2005 to about 40 in 2006, the highest total since the late 1990s. The victims included two golden eagles, hen harriers, peregrines, buzzards and tawny owls.

Four gamekeepers have been fined this year for illegally possessing the pesticides used to kill the birds of prey and other cases are due to come to court. On Thursday, Scottish Junior Environment Minister Rhona Brankin signalled that culprits could soon be jailed under new powers to criminalise persecution.

Deplorable

"The continuing persecution of red kites in Scotland revealed in these figures is deplorable, irresponsible and criminal," she said. "The impact of such acts can spread way beyond the persecution of rare birds. This will not be tolerated and those responsible will be pursued to the full extent of the law."

The RSPB's allegations are the latest salvoes fired in a conflict which pits Scotland's most emblematic birds against each other: the red grouse that earns up to £240m for the rural economy and the eagles and hawks, which the tourism industry touts worldwide as a symbol of Scotland's wild landscapes.

The Scottish Gamekeepers Association (SGA) and Countryside Alliance said they abhorred the poisoning of birds of prey, but accused the RSPB of deliberately exaggerating the scale of the problem and of unfairly blaming grouse moors. "The RSPB should stop their rhetoric and spin," said Alex Hogg, the chairman of the SGA.

Red kites are among the most closely studied birds in Britain. After being wiped out by human persecution 150 years ago, they were reintroduced in north-east Scotland and south-east England in batches from the late 1980s.

The RSPB's figures are based on surveys across Scotland and an analysis of dead birds found in the countryside. It said that between 1999 and 2003, 395 birds were tagged — nearly all the red kites in the wild. By the beginning of this month only 49 were known to be alive.

Duncan Orr-Ewing, the RSPB's head of species in Scotland, said he was alarmed by the figures. Experience showed that birds that failed to reappear within two years were "almost certainly" dead.

The numbers in south-east England have mushroomed, and there are now more than 320 breeding pairs. In 1989, 93 breeding pairs were released in both north-west Scotland and the Chilterns north west of London.

Missing birds

Analysis of the 30 dead red kites recovered in Scotland showed that 13 had been poisoned and three shot, while six had collided with vehicles. Based on those figures, the RSPB fears that up to 185 of the missing birds have been poisoned, shot or trapped. "This is an absolutely shocking statistic," Mr. Orr-Ewing said. "In a natural situation, you would expect natural mortality to be the highest cause of death. But you've got human persecution as the highest figure."

This analysis is expected to be confirmed by a study out next year in a peer-reviewed scientific journal in cooperation with Scottish Natural Heritage, the government conservation body.

The SGA said the RSPB's allegations were based on thin scientific evidence. Mr. Hogg said its figures showed that only four per cent of red kites had been poisoned, a "huge improvement on previous years. I question why the RSPB finds it necessary to use words such as `presumed' and `estimates' in their attempts to discredit the game industry, which pumps £240m into the rural economy annually, and is scientifically proven to benefit Scotland's wider biodiversity.''

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