Author: RaptorPersecutionUK

Is he, or isn’t he?

Last Tuesday (24 Jan), Derbyshire gamekeeper Glenn Brown lost his appeal against his conviction for seven offences under the Wildlife & Countryside and Animal Welfare Acts (see here).

On 25 January 2012, we asked whether Glenn Brown was a member (or now an ex-member) of the National Gamekeepers’ Organisation (NGO), and encouraged readers to contact the NGO and ask for themselves. I don’t know about you, but the NGO has so far ignored the email we sent to them about it.

Interestingly, the NGO was very quick to post a statement on its website recently about the conviction of a Norfolk head keeper and his apprentice for animal cruelty offences (see here). The NGO stated that neither of the offenders were members of the NGO, and this statement was posted the day after the two were sentenced (sentenced on 11 Jan, NGO web statement posted 12 Jan 2012). UPDATE 8 FEB 2012: the NGO has now removed the statement on its website about the Norfolk head keeper and his apprentice.

So, why the silence over Glenn Brown? Was he a member of the NGO or not? It’s a simple enough question, isn’t it?

If anyone else wants to ask the NGO, you can contact them at: info@nationalgamekeepers.org.uk

Poisoned red kite is ninth to die in County Wicklow, Ireland

The Belfast Telegraph is reporting that another red kite has been confirmed illegally poisoned – the ninth kite to be killed this way in County Wicklow, Ireland. According to the report, the breeding female (known as Blue Purple G – her wing tag code) was found by Brittas Bay late last year.

She was one of the first young red kites to have been released in Ireland in 2007 as part of the Golden Eagle Trust’s reintroduction programme. She is known to have found a mate and had successfully raised three young at her nest site. She is the third red kite to have been poisoned by Alphachloralose in the last five months.

Belfast Telegraph news report here

Golden Eagle Trust website here

Alice in Wonderland: curiouser and curiouser!

Are you sitting comfortably children? Then I’ll begin…

Once upon a time there was a girl called Alice, who fell down a rabbit hole and entered a fantasy world (‘Wonderland’) where everyone spoke gibberish and nothing made sense. In Wonderland, (also known as the Countryside Alliance HQ), Alice thought it was “absurd” that those evil-doers at the RSPB could claim that there were only four breeding pairs of hen harrier in England in 2011. Everybody in Wonderland knew that even though all the scientific studies proved otherwise, the hen harrier in England was not on the verge of extinction as an English breeding bird, that over 2,000 harriers were not ‘missing’ from the UK countryside, and in no way was anyone connected with game shooting responsible for the supposed decline.

To back up her theory, Alice suggested that “the hen harrier is more numerate than 7 out of the 15 species of birds of prey in this country“. Of course, everyone in Wonderland knew that the hen harrier is able to think and express itself effectively in quantitative terms (or, put more simply, the hen harrier is able to use numbers, i.e. it is “numerate”). How absurd to think otherwise! It’s those fools at the RSPB who are innumerate – they think two and two makes four, when clearly it makes 330 (which coincidentally is the predicted number of breeding hen harrier pairs that the scientist boffins clowns say are ‘missing’ from the oh-so wildlife-friendly grouse moors of northern England).

That’s the end of this fairytale – tune in next time to find out why the holocaust never happened. Night night, children, and beware of falling down rabbit holes! Although to be honest, there’s not much chance of that as most of them are stuffed with the corpses of illegally killed raptors.

For those of us living in the real world and not some kind of fantastical Wonderland like Alice and her chums, you might be interested in this newsblast that was written by Alice Barnard, Chief Exec of the Countryside Alliance (although not for much longer – see here) that arrived in my inbox this morning:

“The RSPB’s bird of prey officer has recently been claiming that the status of the hen harrier in England is so precarious due to illegal killing that he believes one wet spring or a fire at the wrong time of year could result in it becoming extinct. However, as the RSPB knows only too well, the term extinction is defined by the death of the very last of a kind, and its use to describe the future of the hen harrier is therefore nothing short of absurd; as is its claim that there are only 4 breeding pairs left in England.

In addition to Britain, the hen harrier occurs in a multitude of countries across the northern hemisphere, including North America, Europe and Asia. It has an extremely large population which is currently thought to be 167,000 breeding females, with no significant decline in that population globally. Internationally it is classified as a species of “Least Conservation Concern”, and with 663 pairs in the UK, the hen harrier is more numerate than 7 out of the 15 species of birds of prey in this country. Although only 4 pairs may have bred successfully in England in 2011, many hen harriers can be observed moving around the country throughout the year. The issue, therefore, is that of poor breeding success; not extinction.

There are numerous factors that can result in the poor breeding success of hen harriers, and in 2009 the RSPB and Natural England reported that it was entirely due to natural causes; not illegal persecution as all too frequently claimed by the RSPB. Indeed there have been no confirmed cases of persecution against the species for the last 5 years.

The fact is that hen harriers are vulnerable to predation by foxes and other birds of prey, lack of available prey, unintentional disturbance and by weather and accidental fires; or a combination of any of these. It also appears that there are other factors at play of which we are currently unaware, such as on the Isle of Man, where the RSPB’s 2010 survey found that the population of hen harriers had halved, for reasons still unknown.

We will continue to challenge the RSPB’s assertions of persecution against birds of prey as part of our promotion and defence of the shooting community and the valuable conservation work they do.

Alice Barnard, Chief Executive, Countryside Alliance”.

Here is a link to the RSPB press release to which Alice may be referring (see here). Let’s hope that in her new position as Chief Exec of “a leading Education charity“, Alice does not need to use comprehension skills (the RSPB press release clearly states that they are referring to an ENGLISH hen harrier extinction, not a global one as Alice tries to infer), nor literacy skills (look up the word ‘numerate’, love). Maybe she’d be better sticking to fairytales – she does those quite well.

So who is set to replace Alice in Wonderland? Step forward some military guru, former head of the UK field army, the amusingly named Lieutenant General Sir Barney White-Spunner (see here). Are they expecting a war?

‘Unscrupulous liars’ in the Glenn Brown gamekeeper trial

Following the report that convicted gamekeeper Glenn Brown lost his appeal yesterday (see here), one of the RSPB investigators has blogged about his experience, and that of his colleagues, in the appeal process.

Mark Thomas discusses how he and three other RSPB investigation colleagues (Guy Shorrock, James Leonard and John McMahon) were repeatedly accused of being ‘unscrupulous liars’ by Glenn Brown’s defence team. Not for the first time (see here), the RSPB has been publicly accused of ‘planting evidence’ in order to gain a successful prosecution against a gamekeeper accused of raptor persecution. Also not for the first time, this ridiculous accusation has been found to be completely fabricated. I think we can probably make up our own minds as to the identity of the ‘unscrupulous liars’ based on all the evidence available in the public domain.

Mark Thomas goes on to suggest that the reason for the repeated attacks on the credibility and integrity of RSPB investigators is “…because RSPB Investigations working with the Police and the Crown Prosecution Service is the only dedicated team able to pull off these complex gamekeeper- related investigations and convictions, making us an obvious target“. Well, that’s almost true – in Scotland we also have the expertise of the SSPCA to rely upon – but nevertheless, Mark’s conclusion about why the RSPB is an obvious target is, well, obvious and accurate (see link in above paragraph for multiple examples of unfounded hostility from the game-shooting industry towards the RSPB).

Also included in Mark’s blog is a fascinating PDF that gives the full judgement notes from the judge at Brown’s original trial in June 2011. This really is well worth a read, and full credit to the RSPB for allowing this document to be published.

Mark Thomas (RSPB Investigations blog) here

Full judgement notes from Glenn Brown’s original trial: Glenn Brown full judgement notes June 2011

Man charged with shooting a buzzard has case adjourned until March

John Winn Roberts, 43, of Woodend Meadow, Ballymagorry, Strabane, Northern Ireland, appeared in front of magistrates on the Isle of Wight last Friday (20 January 2012) and pleaded not guilty to intentionally shooting a wild bird (a buzzard) on 26 November 2011 at a quarry in Newport, Isle of Wight. The case was adjourned until 22 March 2012 and Mr Roberts was granted unconditional bail.

The alleged offence was reported in the Isle of Wight County Press on 18 January 2012 (see here). Hampshire Constabulary led the investigation, with assistance from the RSPCA and the company ‘Bardon Vectis’, which runs the quarry where the alleged offence took place. The fate of the shot buzzard has not been reported.

More on this case after the next hearing.

Convicted gamekeeper Glenn Brown loses his appeal

The RSPB reports that Derbyshire gamekeeper Glenn Brown has lost his lengthy appeal against his conviction for seven offences relating to the illegal use  of a baited trap to take birds of prey, the intentional taking of a sparrowhawk, and numerous animal welfare offences.

Brown was convicted in June 2011 for the offences that took place on the National Trust’s Howden Moor in Derbyshire. Despite the penalties available, he was only given 100 hours of community service and ordered to pay £10,000 costs (see here, here, here and here for background).

According to the RSPB press release, Brown’s appeal, which began on 3 January 2012 at Derby Crown Court, included ‘a blistering attack against the integrity of the RSPB, claiming evidence had been planted to incriminate Brown’. The appeal was dismissed on 24 January 2012 by Judge Watson, who commented on the credibility of the RSPB witnesses. Brown was ordered to pay a further £7,000 costs.

It is not known whether Brown was/is a member of the National Gamekeepers’ Organisation. You can find out by sending an email to: info@nationalgamekeepers.org.uk

RSPB press release here

Gamekeeper & apprentice avoid jail in cruelty case

Following the blog post on December 9th 2011 (see here), gamekeeper Christopher Carter and his apprentice Luke Byrne have been sentenced for their involvement in an horrendous animal cruelty case on the West Acre Estate in Norfolk.

See here for the sentencing report published in the Daily Mail. Unbelieveable.

The National Gamekeepers’ Organisation has put out a statement to say that neither offender was a member of the NGO. They also say: ‘Independent research has shown that gamekeeping is a force for good in the countryside in terms of conserving wildlife habitat. Moreover, in many remote, rural areas, gamekeepers are in the frontline in the battle against wildlife crime‘. The statement was released by a massive porky pig as it flew over NGO headquarters and can be read here.

Another South Lanarkshire gamekeeper convicted of poison offence

Well well well. Another gamekeeper from South Lanarkshire has been convicted of possessing the banned pesticide, Carbofuran. Police were alerted to the location after a member of the public found a poisoned buzzard lying next to a pheasant bait near Loanhead Farm, Lamington, South Lanarkshire, in November 2010. Lab tests by SASA revealed Carbofuran in both birds.

Today at Lanark Sheriff Court, 63 year old keeper Cyril McLachlan was fined £635 after admitting possession of Carbofuran. Yet again, a weak penalty for what is supposedly considered a seriously grave offence by the Scottish Government. Not good enough.

It is not known whether McLachlan was a member of the Scottish Gamekeepers’ Association at the time of the offence. If anyone can shed any light on this, we’d be happy to hear about it. UPDATE: The SGA has now issued a statement to say McLachlan was not a member (see here).

Well done to RSPB and SSPCA and the other agencies involved in getting this case to court.

RSPB press release here

Cumbrian man ‘not in any way connected’ to red kite deaths

Following the blog post on 6 December 2011 (see here), Cumbrian man Allan Armistead appeared at Preston Crown Court on 6 January 2012. Here is what was reported by the ‘In-Cumbria’ newsletter:

AN investigation into the suspected poisoning and shooting of red kites led to the discovery of breaches of regulations dealing with pesticides and firearms at a farm.

But it was accepted at Preston Crown Court yesterday there was no evidence 74-year-old Allan Armistead was in any way connected with the deaths of the birds.

The pensioner, who lives at Hulleter Farm in Oxen Park, Ulverston, was fined £7,000 and ordered to carry out 140 hours’ unpaid work.

He admitted seven offences in relation to pesticides, plus three other firearm-related offences.

The court heard a search warrant was executed at the farm last July.

Chemicals were found, most of which were unlawful to possess, due to regulations which had come in more than 10 years ago. Some of the pesticides were 60 years old.

Two rusting tins had a chemical capable of producing cyanide gas on contact with air or water. When one of them was open in safe lab conditions, some of that gas had already been produced.

Mr Brett Gerrity, prosecuting, said the finding of those tins had resulted in wildlife officers having to wear full face masks.

Other pesticides were also found. Among them was a bag containing bottles of crystallised hydrochloride strychnine. There was also a bottle of strychnine hydrochloride – a highly toxic poison used for controlling moles.

It was also found Armistead had his late father’s Home Guard rifle without authorisation, had more ammunition than he was allowed and had not disclosed he had at least three other guns. Mr Christopher Evans, defending, said the pensioner was genuinely remorseful. The chemicals had previously been legally held for many years before new regulations came in.

He said Armistead had lived at the farm since he was born. He had worked there all his life, following in his father’s footsteps, and works seven days a week.

His father’s old rifle had been kept for sentimental value.

Judge Graham Knowles QC cancelled the firearms certificate and shotgun licence that Armistead had held.

He told him: “You dealt with the guns and the ammunition and the pesticides as though the law didn’t apply to you, or didn’t matter.”

Armistead was also told to pay a total of £2,300 costs, plus a £15 surcharge.

Joke sentence for second-time convicted gamekeeper

David Alexander Whitefield, the former gamekeeper at Culter Allers Estate in South Lanarkshire, was today sentenced following his December 2011 conviction for illegally poisoning four buzzards (see here for conviction report).

Before we discuss his latest sentence, let’s remind ourselves of Whitefield’s criminal record: This keeper, who was also a member of the Scottish Gamekeepers’ Association, was convicted in October 2008 for offences relating to the unlawful capture and subsequent welfare of a buzzard. His sentence for that conviction was a £300 fine. He kept his job as the sole gamekeeper and he was not expelled from the SGA. Just six months later, in April 2009, RSPB investigators were alerted to the signs of an illegal poisoning spree on this estate. Obviously, these subsequent poisoning activities, for which Whitefield has now been convicted, demonstrate that the £300 fine had zero effect as a deterrent (no great surprise really).

So then you might expect today’s sentence to reflect not only the seriousness of the crime of poisoning wildlife (and potentially any human and/or domestic animals that happened to wander through the well-used public walking trails on this estate), but also to acknowledge that Whitefield, already previously convicted for wildlife crime there, had shown a complete disregard for wildlife legislation.

You might reasonably expect that the sheriff in this case, Nicola Stewart, might utilise her full sentencing powers and go for the most serious sentence available for this type of crime, which includes a custodial sentence and/or a financial penalty for each poisoned bird. That would see Whitefield put away for a while and would send out a very clear message that this type of crime will no longer be tolerated in this country, just as the Scottish Government has claimed over and over again in recent years.

So why then, was Whitefield handed down a 100 hour community service order as his ‘punishment’?

According to an RSPB press release, Sheriff Stewart is reported to have said the punishment was a direct alternative to a custodial sentence and that poisoning is a serious offence. Why was he given a direct alternative to a custodial sentence and where, in his 100 hour community service order, is there any indication that illegal poisoning is considered a serious offence?

This is a joke sentence, to add to all the other joke sentences that have been handed out to the few criminals that are actually prosecuted for these crimes. As we keep seeing, over and over again, these punishments are not providing the required deterrent so surely it’s now time to introduce mandatory sentences for these offences, and that includes custodial sentences. These are already available to the judiciary – so far, for whatever reason, not one custodial sentence has been given to a convicted raptor poisoner. We need to be asking why that is, and we need to keep asking.

Well done to the SSPCA for some serious doggedness with this case – it’s been a long time in the works and looked at one point to be in danger of failing on a legal technicality. Perseverance paid off, and despite the pathetic sentence, those involved with the groundwork deserve much credit.

BBC news article here

RSPB Scotland press release on Birdguides Blog here