At Aberdeen Sheriff Court on 12 July 2006, the head gamekeeper on the North Glenbuchat Estate, Strathdon, Aberdeenshire, was found guilty of three offences: killing a wild bird, possession of birds’ eggs, and possession of a proscribed pesticide under the Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981.
The 56 year old head keeper, Hector McNeil, of Whitehillock, Glenbuchat, had worked as a gamekeeper on the Estate for 30 years. He was fined £850.
The RSPB claimed this was one of many cases but a spokesman for the Scottish Gamekeepers Association had said the case was not typical of the profession.
Raptor Persecution UK 