No abstract

This is a PDF file of an article that has undergone enhancements after acceptance, such as the addition of a cover page and metadata, and formatting for readability, but it is not yet the definitive version of record. This version will undergo additional copyediting, typesetting and review before it is published in its final form, but we are providing this version to give early visibility of the article. Please note that, during the production process, errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain.

The hen harrier (Circus cyaneus) remains severely restricted as a breeding species in England despite sufficient habitat for over 300 breeding pairs. Human persecution is the main limiting factor and in the UK, there have been 45 confirmed incidents of shooting of hen harriers since records began (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds unpublished data). The authors report the pathological examination of a hen harrier, the detection of suspected ballistic fragments by radiograph and explain how scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDX) was used to confirm (i) the composition of one ballistic remnant and (ii) that the remnant had been projected into and had damaged the bone. The authors report the use of post-analysis software to discriminate apparent anomalies produced by the proprietary SEM-EDX software package and discuss broader uses of SEM-EDX for wildlife crime investigation.

No abstract

No abstract