The day has finally come. Today is the opening day of the trial of Scottish gamekeeper George Mutch, of Kildrummy Estate, Aberdeenshire.
Mutch is accused of a variety of offences relating to the illegal trapping, and then killing and/or taking away of birds of prey, alleged to have taken place over two years ago in August 2012. Mutch has denied the charges, hence the trial.
There have been 12 previous court hearings in this case, including yet another intermediate diet yesterday. It’s good to finally have the trial underway.
Watching with great interest…..
Raptor Persecution UK 
I’ve got my prayer mat out again – though it is getting rather frayed with over-use!
It’s been a long long haul, let’s hope all the hard earned tax payers money they’ve spent so far will prove to be worth it !!!
No need to get too excited. “Defence counsel Mark Moir argued that the sheriff should not hear the case” and the Sheriff has stepped down. See http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-29725269
Dear God..because she was an RSPB member!..like over a million others in the UK!..In my time Ive seen a sheriff with his own pheasant shoot preside over a raptor trapping case…no objections there?!…I hope if the replacement sheriff has shooting connections then the prosecution will ask that one to step down??…..and once again “defence counsel” [QC] for a gamekeeper, in a sheriff court….nice level playing field then…
It could only happen here, what a travesty.