A 58 year-old man has been reported to the Procurator Fiscal in relation to the death of a hen harrier in Aberdeenshire, according to the BBC (see here).
This relates to an incident that took place in June last year.
The un-named man is expected to appear at Aberdeen Sheriff Court ‘at a later date’.
This is another disappointingly vague press release from Police Scotland. There’s no mention of the man’s name, his occupation, the specific location of the incident, or the cause of the harrier’s death.
There is also no explanation as to why it has taken seven months just to get to the reporting stage.
It’s not very impressive given that the hen harrier is supposed to be one of the government’s highest wildlife crime priority species.
We look forward to further details emerging about this case in due course.
Raptor Persecution UK 
Actually, the fact it has taken seven months might be encouraging – it might be they have taken the time to get the correct evidence to secure conviction. Better that than a hastily put together case that fails.
Actually, the polis have been sitting on this since the summer. And the man reported is a gamekeeper on xxxxxxxxxxxxx estate.
A gamekeeper you say, no surprise there then.
Just a quick note: please be careful what you say. The case has only been ‘reported’ at this stage – there may not even be a prosecution if the Fiscal decides there is insufficient evidence.
Any comment that we consider may potentially jeopardise this case will not be published.
Thanks.
gamekeepers rule