Last month I blogged about the discovery of a large pit containing dead Pheasants, Red-legged Partridges, Wood Pigeons, deer parts, and a lot of rubbish, including a burnt mattress, on the Glenbanchor and Pitmain Estate in the Cairngorms National Park (see here).
I wrote about the legislation on the disposal of animal by-products and whether this dumping pit was legal or not (surely it isn’t, but the legislation is very complicated and thus confusing).
I’m pleased to report that a blog reader has drawn the incident to the attention of their local MSP (well done!) and questions are being asked in all the right places. I hope there’s some clarification soon, and if this dumping pit is illegal, that enforcement measures will follow.
On a similar theme, a blog reader has sent me images of another dumping pit, this time found outside of the Cairngorms National Park boundary, on an estate in Strathdearn, the long river valley running from Coignafearn to Moy.
This time, the dumping pit contained mostly general and hazardous waste, although the walker’s attention was first drawn to the pit by what was described as the foul stench of rotting flesh.
The photographs show items such as a large fridge, a chemical spray pump and barrel, a tyre, textiles, plastics, wood, cardboard, electrical equipment, metals, and a large number of white/green/yellow plastic sacks that had been zip-tied.
It is suspected that these sacks, which originally contained Spratts Game Food Release Pellets, now contained shot gamebirds, probably Red-legged Partridges, which are known to be released in large numbers in the area. The blog reader didn’t try to open the sacks because entering the pit would have been hazardous.
As with the dumping pit found on the Glenbanchor and Pitmain Estate, the walker thought the items had been dumped for burial because of the presence of the rubble mound at the side of the hole.
Obviously, the burial of hazardous waste (known as ‘special waste’ in Scotland) is unlawful. Items such as fridges can be taken to household waste and recycling centres where they can be disposed of for free.
If there are also dead gamebirds, there are different rules for the disposal of animal by-products (see above commentary on the pit at Glenbanchor & Pitmain Estate). There are some exemptions that permit burial, and it’s not clear to me whether any apply to this site, but the exemption available for areas classified as ‘remote areas’ in Scotland do not apply here, because the parish of Moy & Dalarossie is outside the classified area.
Unlike the pit found at Glenchor & Pitmain, the walker did not see anybody at this pit, and didn’t witness anybody adding any items in to the pit, so it is not clear who is responsible.
The pit’s location is at NH75022346, which according to Andy Wightman’s Who Owns Scotland website, is Garbole Forest, very close to the estate boundaries of Glen Kyllachy & Farr Estate, and Glenmazeran Estate.
Andy Wightman’s research indicates that the owner of Garbole Forest is a company called Newbie Ltd, listed as ‘hunting, trapping & related services activities’ and worth an estimated £13 million. Wightman’s website shows Newbie Ltd is also listed as the co-owner of Glen Kyllachy & Farr Estate, along with a company called Newbie Salmon Fisheries (Property) Ltd. Companies House records show that two of the three Directors of Newbie Ltd are also the sole Directors of Newbie Salmon Fisheries (Property) Ltd.
The walker who discovered this dumping pit told me they’d reported it as a potential fly-tipping incident to Highland Council but they didn’t receive any response.
Perhaps the blog reader who alerted the local MSP to the dumping pit on Glenbanchor & Pitmain Estate might also want to do the same with this one. It’s certainly worthy of further high level investigation.
Raptor Persecution UK 