In October 2023, Kelvin Birtles of Saffron Road, Wigston appeared at Leicester Magistrates Court where he pleaded guilty to three offences – the possession of two dead badgers (in breach of the Protection of Badgers Act), the possession of two dead otters (in breach of the Wildlife & Countryside Act) and the possession of nine dead birds including three buzzards, four tawny owls, one barn owl and one swan, which were all found in his freezer during a joint police and trading standards raid in April 2023. Sentencing was deferred for background reports (see blog here).
Birtle re-appeared at Leicester Magistrates Court on 15th November 2023 where he told the court he didn’t know he needed a licence, that some of the items were for his taxidermy hobby, and that some had been roadkill that he’d removed from near a school because ‘he didn’t want kids to see them smashed up on the road’.
He received a 12 month community order requiring him to carry out 120 hours unpaid work. He was also ordered to pay £85 costs and £114 victim surcharge.
Source: Leicestershire Live website
Raptor Persecution UK 
Glad to see the judiciary is taking wildlife crime seriously. Another jaw dropping sentence! I’m sure all the other animal abusers will be shaking in their boots.
When they have killed all of the wildlife, what is going to satisfy their blood lust then? Because as I see it, the only thing that is going to stop them is when there’s nothing left to kill.
[Ed: Thanks, Stephen. For clarity, Birtles wasn’t charged/convicted of killing the wildlife – he was guilty of possession]
Rather extraordinary. Birtles also held “body parts of llamas, piglets, a pheasant and a horse… for personal use” and “There wasn’t any intention to make money and I haven’t done any taxidermy for four or five years.” claiming they had accumulated in the freezer over the years, according to the local news website.
I wonder, then, how and why Trading Standards got to be involved?
Just another slap-on-the-wrist punishment. He should have received a far stronger sentence to, hopefully, help deter those who would do similar. Surely, he should have known he needed a licence for his taxidermy hobby? I wonder which poor animals were actually roadkill?
Congratulations to the police and trading standards for the raid, prosecution and successful outcome.
Obviously the paltry sentence didn’t fit the crime, he should have done five years in prison
I wonder will a new Labour government give a kick up the ar$e to these judges when it comes to these comic sesntances for wildlife crime??
I hope a lot of things in respect to a future Labour Government.
It remains to be seen whether they will dare to offend the upholders of the status quo much at all.
However they would be hard pressed to find a worse Environment secretary than the last two incumbants.
The obvious choice by this lot would have been Zac Goldsmith, however he had no chance as he was an environmentalist.
As you say jaw dropping and pathetic no deterrent.