A year after her release, which had seen her fly around south Scotland and down into northern England and back, on 12 October 2023 Merrick\u2019s satellite tag suddenly and inexplicably stopped transmitting from a roost site in the Moorfoot Hills in the Scottish Borders where she\u2019d been sleeping overnight.<\/p>\n A project officer from the South Scotland Golden Eagle Project went to her last known location where he found Merrick\u2019s feathers and blood directly below her roost tree. Police Scotland later determined from the evidence that she\u2019d been \u2018shot and killed\u2019 and that someone had then \u2018removed her body and destroyed her satellite tag\u2019 (see\u00a0here<\/a>).<\/p>\n There was limited scope for anyone to be charged and prosecuted for killing this eagle unless someone in the know came forward with sufficient evidence to identify the individual(s) responsible. In addition, the prospect of an estate having its grouse-shooting licence withdrawn as a consequence of this crime was zero, given that this offence took place prior to the enactment of the Wildlife & Muirbun (Scotland) Act 2024.<\/p>\n That just left a General Licence restriction as a possible sanction. Not that I\u2019d describe a GL restriction as an effective sanction, for reasons that have been explored previously on this blog (e.g.\u00a0here<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0here<\/a>). Nevertheless, it\u2019s still\u00a0something\u00a0and, given the high-profile of Merrick\u2019s death, you might think that making a decision on whether to impose a GL restriction would be a high priority for NatureScot.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/merrick-ssgep.jpg\")
<\/a>Camera trap photo of golden eagle Merrick in 2022, from South Scotland Golden Eagle Project<\/p>\n