Did animal rights activists stage the death of Fred? On 15th February 2018, BBC presenter Chris Packham released a film on YouTube suggesting that a golden eagle he calls Fred, hatched last year, was killed by a gamekeeper. Its satellite tag, maybe still attached to the eagle carcase, was apparently dumped in the North Sea.
Satellite tracking picked up Packham leaves out crucial facts such as eagles’ 70% mortality in their first year.
Then a new film by Packham on 22nd March says he has been ‘given access to some more data’. The film is shot in the same place, with Packham wearing the same clothes, and the same snow on the ground as a month before.
The movement of the sunlight on the tree Packham sits on suggests the ‘new data’ arrived a matter of minutes after Packham finished shooting the first film.
Both films are a useful fundraiser for the RSPB which links its attacks on gamekeepers to its membership marketing.
Thanks to Andy Richardson for spotting this. Andy recently received a letter from solicitors acting for Chris Packham, complaining about his campaigning against the BBC star.
