Some commentary on the murder conviction of ex-Head Gamekeeper David Campbell

Two days ago, a jury at the High Court in Glasgow returned a guilty verdict in the trial of former Head Gamekeeper David Campbell, 77, who had been accused of murdering his ex-colleague from Edradynate Estate, Brian Low, after ambushing him and shooting him in the chest and neck with a shotgun on a remote woodland track near Aberfeldy on 16 February 2024.

The circumstances of this horrific murder were shocking and understandably Campbell’s conviction made the headlines in widespread news coverage yesterday. For example:

But for many living in the rural area around Edradynate Estate, near Aberfeldy, Perthshire, and those who have been investigating wildlife crime on Edradynate Estate for decades, Campbell’s conviction came as no surprise whatsoever.

During his 33-years of employment as Head Gamekeeper on Edradynate Estate (1984-2017), Campbell was at the centre of at least 22 police investigations into the alleged poisoning, shooting and trapping of birds of prey, as well as firearms offences. I say alleged – what I mean is that there is no question whatsoever that raptors were illegally killed on that estate, over a period of three decades, but nobody was ever convicted for any of it and David Campbell had always denied any involvement.

Here’s a blog I wrote in 2017, after the Crown Office had dropped another prosecution against an Edradynate Estate gamekeeper relating to the alleged poisoning of Buzzards in 2015, despite a plea from Police Scotland to pursue a prosecution:

Edradynate Estate has been at the centre of investigations for alleged wildlife crime for a very, very long time. In 2002, the estate’s Head gamekeeper and underkeeper were arrested and charged with nine offences relating to the use of poisoned baits and also bird cruelty, including the use of spring traps. However, on 22 July 2004, two years after the original arrests and 13 court hearings later, the Crown Office dropped the case (sound familiar?). A COPFS spokeswoman later admitted that the time taken to prepare the case had been a major factor in the decision to scrap it (see here).

In July 2010, a poisoned red kite was discovered. An un-named gamekeeper from the estate (who said he was a member of the Scottish Gamekeepers’ Association) claimed the bird had been ‘planted’. It also emerged that in addition to the poisoned red kite, over the previous 15 years, 9 buzzards, 2 sparrowhawks, 2 crows, 1 gull, 1 tawny owl, 1 pole cat, and 1 domestic cat, had all been found poisoned in the area. Twelve poisoned baits (Carbofuran, Mevinphos and Alphachloralose) had also been discovered (see here). Nobody was prosecuted for any of this.

In March 2011, two poisoned buzzards, two poisoned crows, and two Carbofuran-laced pheasant baits were discovered. A gamekeeper was taken for questioning but he was later released without charge (here).

In February 2012 an Edradynate Estate gamekeeper was charged with a number of alleged firearms and explosives offences (see here). However, in September 2012 the Crown deserted the case without providing an explanation (see here). Gosh, this is becoming quite a habit, isn’t it?

Writing about the Crown Office’s decision in 2017 to drop the case against Campbell for the alleged poisoning of Buzzards on Edradynate in 2015, former Police Wildlife Crime Officer Alan Stewart wrote on his blog,

‘This has been the fourth case in relation to the poisoning of raptors submitted to the fiscal against the same accused. I submitted the first Edradynate case in 1994 but it was always going to be short of evidence of identification. The fiscal sat on it in case anything further was discovered that would help the case but had to drop it at the end of the time bar, which at that time was 6 months‘

and

‘I was involved in a further search, which I think was in the month of March. Two or three dead (poisoned) buzzards were found and there were a couple of pheasant baits recovered as well. No pesticides were found but we took samples from the accused’s vehicle and from various items of his clothing. Traces of pesticide were found in the vehicle and on several items of clothing, including from an item he was wearing when he was detained. It was a reasonable circumstantial case, which I thought would be clinched with the pesticide traces on the clothing worn by the accused. I suspect that identification, which is always crucial, was again considered to be the stumbling block. This case was eventually dropped as well‘

and

‘Between 1993 and 2011 I am aware of 14 poisoned baits involving the banned pesticides carbofuran, mevinphos and alpha-chloralose being found on Edradynate estate. There have also been 31 poisoned victims including 17 buzzards, 4 carrion crows, 2 sparrowhawks, 2 tawny owls, a domestic cat, a common gull, a red kite and a polecat found either on the estate or very close to its boundary. I doubt if anyone would disagree that this number of baits and victims were the very tip of the iceberg. I doubt also if anyone would think that someone was ‘coming in off the street’ and dumping all these dead creatures on the estate to cause trouble‘.

In 2018, Police Scotland issued an appeal for information after three dogs and two Buzzards were ‘deliberately poisoned’ between October 2017 and April 2018 around the Edradynate and Pitnacree Estates area (see here). Campbell was no longer working on the estate by this time (see discussion below) and there was local speculation that someone was trying to set up the new Head Gamekeeper but as far as I’m aware, nobody was prosecuted. I’m not aware of any further raptor persecution incidents at Edradynate since the new gamekeeping team was employed.

Alongside the reports of rampant raptor persecution at Edradynate over many, many years, there were stories relating to Campbell’s alleged threatening behaviour towards locals. The court heard some of that testimony during Campbell’s murder trial, although those charges were dropped on the last day of his trial. Further evidence of Campbell’s alleged behaviour was reported by Alan Stewart in one of his books – see here, and this is really worth a read.

It is apparent that many locals were terrified of Campbell, too scared to speak out for fear of retaliation of what he might do to them, or their beloved pets. One individual I’ve spoken to, who wishes to remain anonymous, tells a story of dogs being poisoned and shot and a claim about how Campbell was allegedly seen drowning a dog in a peat hag after it didn’t do as it was told.

Some speak of Campbell’s alleged ‘reign of terror’ in this small rural community and if their testimonies are true, it paints a picture of violence being normalised and being beyond the reach of the law.

The only time Edradynate Estate was held to account was when SNH (now NatureScot) imposed a three-year General Licence restriction in 2017 (see here), assumed to be in relation to the alleged poisoning of Buzzards in 2015 – the case that the Crown Office refused to prosecute.

Despite the widely publicised and appalling catalogue of wildlife crime on Edradynate Estate, reported over several decades, the game shooting industry apparently turned a blind eye.

The Scottish Gamekeepers Association accepted at least two donations from the estate owner, Michael Campbell (no relation to gamekeeper David Campbell and recently deceased); one in 2014 and one in 2015. Surely the SGA was aware of the long history of allegations made about this estate? Perhaps they didn’t care. As there hadn’t been a single conviction they could conveniently ignore the allegations and continue to accept the donations and continue to sit around the table at so-called ‘partnership’ meetings claiming to be doing all they could to eradicate raptor persecution.

Edradynate Estate was featured in the Fieldsports magazine in 2014, where one of the named guns was Robbie Douglas-Miller – surely not this one?

In 2020 Edradynate Estate was endorsed by the British Game Alliance, the game shooting industry’s own ‘assurance’ scheme (at the time), membership of which is supposed to indicate ‘rigorous and ethical standards’.

And in 2023, the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT) accepted an auction donation from Edradynate Estate owner Michael Campbell with an estimated value of £2,500.

By February 2017, David Campbell’s employment as Head Gamekeeper at Edradynate Estate had ended, reportedly after his relationship with owner Michael Campbell had deteriorated and he was ‘removed from his job‘. Later that year David Campbell was charged with maliciously poisoning game cover crops on the estate as an ‘act of revenge’, a charge he denied, and of which he was ultimately cleared after the court ruled the case against him had not been proven beyond reasonable doubt (here).

In the sentencing remarks after gamekeeper Campbell’s recent conviction for murder, Judge Lord Scott said this:

“You have no previous convictions. This appalling and senseless act of extreme wickedness casts a shadow over what seems to have been a long life spent by you in gainful employment and some benefit to the community“.

I do wonder on what background information Lord Scott based this statement. Whilst it’s true that Campbell had no previous convictions, it is indisputable that he was a suspect in multiple crime investigations spanning several decades, and that many in the local community lived in fear of him. And at some point his firearms and shotgun licences had been revoked, presumably on evidence that his suitability was questioned and/or he was considered a risk to public safety.

I understand that following Campbell’s murder conviction, Alan Stewart is preparing a new book. I also understand that a TV production company was granted permission to film during the trial inside Glasgow’s High Court for a documentary about this case.

According to an exclusive article in The Courier yesterday, David Campbell is expected to mount an appeal against his murder conviction and it is anticipated that he will lodge formal paperwork with the Court of Appeal in the coming days.

Stepping away from the tragic murder of Brian Low, there are wider, more general implications to consider.

It is extensively evidenced that there’s a strong link between violence towards animals and violence towards humans. I think ‘violence towards animals’ in this context often refers to issues of illegal animal cruelty (e.g. Badger baiting, putting pets inside microwaves etc) but personally I would also define the routine duties of a gamekeeper as qualifying as ‘violence towards animals’, even though much of this activity is still considered legal in the UK.

I fully accept that some people will disagree with this opinion, and may argue that those who have been granted firearms/shotgun licences, as most (all?) gamekeepers have, are subject to rigorous police checks of their character and suitability. However, you’ve only got to look at the number of wildlife crimes that include the use of a firearm/shotgun, let alone the murder of innocent people by firearm certificate holders, to know that the system isn’t fit for purpose.

I recently read an analysis produced by the National Wildlife Crime Unit (NWCU) about polycriminality in wildlife crime offenders in the UK, which suggested that a significant proportion (59% of offenders) are also linked to violent offending against humans, ranging from low level common assaults to attempted murder, murder and kidnap. (Unfortunately I don’t think this report is available in the public domain).

Wildlife & Countryside LINK is using this analysis to push for a series of recommendations for the government to improve policing resources for tackling wildlife crime, which in turn should increase public safety as well as the safety of wildlife and the environment.