Red kite awareness campaign after reports of stolen food

Red kites were persecuted to the point of extinction, but reintroduction programme has rapidly grown their numbers

An Oxfordshire council is warning the public not to feed red kites after the birds were reported stealing food.

Wallingford Town Council is warning people not to feed the birds in a new poster campaign.

It said they have been seen at the town's Bull Croft Park swooping for scraps and terrorising picnic goers.

Red kites were re-introduced to the area in the 1980s and 1990s by the Chiltern Conservation Board and have been growing in numbers ever since.

Between 1995 and 2020, the population of the species has grown by 1,935%.

Councillor Steve Holder, chair of parks and gardens for the council, said his department was getting increasingly frequent reports of attacks on people in open spaces.

He said: "People will be walking through the park with their sandwiches and red kites are swopping down on them because they're going for the food.

"There have been a couple of people that have had their heads and hands scratched".

Red kites are scavengers and prefer to eat dead animals like road kill, however Mr Holder said they are now circle a school at lunch times and other spots likely to have food outdoors.

He said: "Please stop feeding them. They're an amazing animal to watch in the sky so it's just making sure they don't become like the seagull."

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