Gamekeeper Ralph Sturgess is on trial for allegedly making death threats to his girlfriend after putting her in a headlock and pressing a loaded pistol to her forehead.
Hull Crown Court heard yesterday that after an evening at the pub, Sturgess, a former gamekeeper on Lord Hotham’s Dalton Estate in East Yorkshire, took pot shots at a noisy owl before attacking his girlfriend.
He has denied the charges. The trial continues.
Further details here
Raptor Persecution UK 
XXXXX XXXXX XXXXX XXXXX XXXXX XXXXX I hope the law will start to take guns out the hands of XXXXX XXXXX. They have failed so far to act upon XXXXX gamekeepers fire arms act offences.
[Ed: Trial still going on – offences are only alleged at this stage]
Oh! and pistols were made illegal several years ago, even for legitimate users (target shooting). xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx
[Ed: trial still going on – offences still only alleged at this stage]
Alleged offences or otherwise I never met a Gamekeeper who was compos mentis. You need to have something fundamentally wrong with you to want to trap and kill perfectly harmless wild animals in favour of shooting semi domesticated birds. I mean, what’s the bloody point……
Agree with you 100% Steve. I note that Ralph Sturgess has on the Gamekeepers ‘uniform’.
I have always thought the same as you about gamekeepers steve, to go to work every day knowing you are going to be killing wild animals is not normal behaviour.
I remember a few years ago that in the space of a few months two apprentice Scottish gamekeepers were convicted for animal cruelty offences – one (near Glasgow I think) for kicking a hedgehog to death and another at Broxburn for being involved in badger baiting. Considering that there can hardly be a vast number of apprentice gamekeepers in Scotland at any time this is very alarming, but given what game kepering entails not surprising really. There are also quite a few ‘professional’ keepers done for badger baiting, dog fighting and ‘firearm offences’. Any decent keepers out there are so because of their personal qualities that must be at odds with the nature of the job, they are very much the exception not the standard.
More about the allegations here:-
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/11783516/Gamekeeper-argued-with-townie-girlfriend-and-put-pistol-to-her-head.html
And of course, Google.
Lovely people these gamekeepers.
He has a girlfriend?
XXXXX XXXXX XXXXX XXXXX XXXXX
[Ed: Seriously, please think about what you’re writing. If her allegations are true then she was involved in a violent and abusive relationship in which she feared for her life. How much courage do you think she’s summonsed to give evidence? She deserves support, not derision].
Sorry.
This is the kind of case I expect to read about happening in America, and even then probably only Florida, not here in the UK. What the charges are alleging are a whole level of crazy I just did not expect. Glad I’m not on that jury. [are we good here mods, I know commenting on active trials is walking a fine line on what can be said?]
..and who can forget this fine example of the gamekeeping “profession”?….http://www.scotsman.com/news/forest-drug-factory-pair-jailed-for-six-years-1-537682