Police are appealing for information after a protected bird was injured in the Dales.
The red kite bird was found with a gunshot wound by a walker near Burnhope Burn.
An X-ray confirmed it had been shot and suffered a severe break in the wing which was splinted.
Read more: Woman cut free from car and taken to hospital after rush hour A1 crash near Washington
It is now being cared for by good Samaritan, Jean Thorpe, at Ryedale Wildlife Rescue, in Malton.
The RSPB's official website says the red kite is a "magnificently graceful bird of prey" which "is unmistakable with its reddish-brown body, angled wings and deeply forked tail. It was saved from national extinction by one of the world's longest-running protection programmes.
"It has now been successfully re-introduced to England and Scotland. Red kites are listed under Schedule 1 of The Wildlife and Countryside Act."
An investigation has been launched and the police would like to hear from anyone who may have been in the area at the time or seen anything suspicious that could help officers with their enquiries.
If you have any information, contact Durham Constabulary’s Wildlife Crime Officer, PC Dave Williamson, by emailing David.williamson@durham.police.uk or calling into Barnard Castle Police Station.
Alternatively, call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
Read next:
- Tragedy as 76-year-old man dies after being rescued from house fire in South Shields
Police cordon in Tynemouth linked to search for missing Blucher man Karl Pyle
Family pays tribute to 'loving' 75-year-old Northumberland motorcyclist who died in crash
Body found in search for man who went missing after leaving hospital in Gateshead
Council pays tribute to 'inseparable' teenage lads tragically killed in Morpeth car crash
