Category: Persecution Incidents in England

Industry leaders respond to buzzard-killing gamekeeper case

The public’s reaction to what gamekeeper Colin Burne did to those trapped buzzards (see here) has been widespread disgust and condemnation. People have been commenting all over the social media networks, with many angered that Burne’s punishment was so pathetic (a 12 month suspended sentence – in other words, keep your nose clean for the next year and we’ll say no more about it).

We thought it’d be interesting to read what the game-shooting industry’s leaders had to say about the case. At the very least, we would expect outright condemnation of Burne’s activities and a warning to others that criminal activites will not be tolerated by the industry. We visited a few websites this morning and this is what we found:

National Gamekeepers Organisation: silence

British Association for Conservation & Shooting (BASC): silence

Countryside Alliance: silence

Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust: silence

Now, compare these responses with that of the National Association of Regional Game Councils in Ireland, who reacted to the illegal shooting of a buzzard in January this year. Here’s what NARGC Director Des Crofton had to say:

“The shooting of birds of prey, who are all protected, can only be condemned in the strongest possible terms. The person who shot this bird is not fit to have a firearm. I would urge the authorities, if the person is identified, that they are prosecuted, have their firearm licence revoked and never allowed have one again. This is inexcusable. If I ever found one of my members was responsible for something like this, he would be out of the association so fast his feet wouldn’t touch the ground“.

We blogged about Des Crofton’s statement at the time (see here), and mentioned that an equally strong leadership approach was required from industry leaders in England and Scotland. Sadly, it seems they’re not up to the job.

It would also be good to see a statement from the estate that leased the land to the Cliburn Shoot syndicate, stating that the lease had been withdrawn.

Burne dumping BZ in bucket

Buzzard-killing video – WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT

Further to our earlier story (here) about gamekeeper Colin Burne, convicted for trapping buzzards and clubbing them to death, the RSPB has now posted the unedited version of their covert video surveillance.

WARNING – GRAPHIC CONTENT. Video can be viewed here.

Burne clubbing buzzard to death

Buzzards trapped & beaten to death with a stick: gamekeeper convicted

A gamekeeper from Cumbria has today been convicted for killing buzzards by trapping them in a crow cage trap and then battering them to death with a wooden stick.

Gamekeeper Colin Burne, 64, of Winters Park, Penrith, was caught on camera bashing the buzzards’ skulls in with a wooden stake after the RSPB Investigations Team installed a covert video at the trap in February this year. The trap was being operated on land managed by a private shooting syndicate in Whinfell Forest, near Penrith, Cumbria. A further search of the area revealed ‘many other’ dead buzzards, to which Burne admitted killing five.

Burne admitted three charges at Carlisle Magistrates Court today. He received a 70-day jail sentence for each charge, suspended for 12 months due to his ill health.

RSPB press release here.

The film footage will be published shortly.

We’ll be looking for a statement from the National Gamekeepers Organisation to confirm that if Burne was one of their members, he has now been expelled for life.

The team involved with this investigation and conviction (RSPB Investigations, Cumbria Constabulary and the Crown Prosecution Service) deserve huge credit, especially given the short time span between crime and conviction (less than five months). It seems pretty clear from the evidence that this gamekeeper had been routinely killing buzzards for some time. Will his conviction stop him? It’s hard to say – a suspended sentence is hardly a strong deterrent – but perhaps his ill health will put an end to his criminal career. Certainly the Whinfell Forest shoot will be under closer scrutiny from now on, whether Burne is still involved or not.

So, here we have yet another criminal gamekeeper convicted on the basis of covert video surveillance in England. The CPS and the Magistrates Court don’t seem to have had a problem accepting the video footage as admissible evidence. Had Burne been operating just a few miles further north, this case would not have even reached court, thanks to the Crown Office’s outright refusal to accept this type of evidence. We are greatly looking forward to Paul Wheelhouse’s response to our question from the other day – has the Lord Advocate told the Crown Prosecutors in Scotland to start accepting covert surveillance footage as admissible evidence?

UPDATE 9th July 11.30am: Further details about what Colin Burne did have been published in the News and Star newspaper (here), including an edited version of the video footage showing Burne entering the crow cage trap armed with a fence post to club the buzzards to death. This bastard, who was part of the Cliburn Shoot, knew exactly what he was doing. When initially questioned by the police he denied harming the buzzards – it was only after the video footage was shown to him that he admitted his guilt.

Photo: PC Helen Felton and RSPB Investigator Bob Elliot with two of the buzzards that Burne had clubbed to death, found hidden under a brash pile close to the trap.

PC Helen Felton and RSPB with two killed buzzards_a

UPDATE 9th July 2013 8.15pm: The unedited version of the video has now been posted by the RSPB. View it here. WARNING – IT’S GRAPHIC.

Dead buzzard found with beak bound closed with twine

buzzard beak boundDerbyshire Constabulary are appealing for information about a dead buzzard that was found with twine forced through a hole in its beak to bind it shut.

The bird was found by a member of the public on April 11th on land near Turnditch. Police wildlife crime officers are working with the RSPB to investigate the circumstances of this bird’s death.

Wildlife Crime Officer PC Emerson Buckingham said: “This bird was most probably alive when it was attacked and may have starved to death as it would have been unable to eat or drink with its beak bound“.

Interestingly, Turnditch is just down the road from Idriedgehay and Kirk Ireton where a total of six buzzards were found poisoned in 2010 (see here).

Anyone with information is asked to contact PC Buckingham on (Tel: 101) or the RSPB (Tel: 0845 466 3636).

Well done to Derbyshire Constabulary for the publicity on this disgraceful crime. Press release here.

Thanks to @HowardJones88 for passing on the link to us.

Shot buzzard in North Yorks – 4th in 4 months

Buzzard shot Farndale 2013A press release in the Northern Echo reports that a buzzard has been found shot just north of Kirbymoorside in Farndale, North Yorkshire. Gunshot was found in the bird’s wing and bone fragments were sticking out of the injury. It is believed to have been in that state for ten days before it was picked up. Unfortunately its injuries were so severe it had to be euthanised.

The press release doesn’t provide any details about when this buzzard was discovered, other than sometime in the last four months, although we know from another source that it was 14 April.

Interestingly, PC Stewart Ashton of North Yorks Police is quoted as saying: “This is the fourth buzzard to have been shot in Ryedale over the past four months“.

So where was the publicity for the other three shot buzzards? We don’t recall seeing any media about those incidents. A quick look on the North Yorks Police website shows their last reported shot buzzard dated 4 November 2011 (see here).

It’s not the first time we’ve wondered about delayed or vague press releases from this police force, for example, see here, here and here.

At least the press release about this latest shot buzzard is timely. The RSPB has also put up a £1,000 reward for information leading to a conviction. Article in the Northern Echo here.

Pathetic fine for convicted poisoner

poisonsignlPaul Unsworth, a 48-year-old pigeon fancier from Sunderland has pleaded guilty to three charges of illegally using and storing the highly toxic and banned pesticide, Carbofuran.

His sentence? A £200 fine for each offence. Seriously, it’s got to be time to bring in mandatory and hard-hitting sentences for these offences, hasn’t it? What deterrent is a £200 quid fine?

Well done to Northumbria Police, Natural England and RSPB Investigations Team for at least securing the conviction today at Newcastle Crown Court, despite an astonishingly pathetic fine from the judge.

Full details of what poisoner Paul Unsworth (of Newbold Avenue, Monkwearworth) got up to can be read here.

 It had previously been reported that he was initially charged with four offences relating to the alleged possession of Carbofuran between December 2006 and February 2012 (see here).

Norfolk man arrested over ‘haul of dead birds of prey’

norfolk constabularyThis is never-ending.

Press release from Norfolk Constabulary:

“A 64-year-old man was arrested on Thursday [4 April] on suspicion of a number of wildlife offences.

It follows a police investigation that was assisted by officers from Natural England and the RSPB.

The bodies of over a dozen birds of prey were recovered from the Holt area.

The man was also arrested on suspicion of breaching pesticide regulations. The man, who is also from the Holt area, has been bailed until 22 May while further enquiries are carried out”.

It’s not clear from this press release what species of dead raptors were discovered, or how they died. The alleged pesticide breach may or may not be connected. Nevertheless, well done to Norfolk Constabulary, Natural England and the RSPB Investigations Team. Good to see this information being released at this stage. Take note, Police Scotland!

Shot peregrine released back to wild after treatment

_66033291_peregrineA peregrine falcon was found with a broken wing in January – apparently it had been shot. It has now been nursed back to health and released back into the wild at the location where it was found.

According to the BBC (see here), the injured peregrine was found ‘in a field near a local shoot’ in Salwick, near Preston. Kudos to Turbary Woods Owl and Bird Sanctuary for their efforts in this bird’s recovery.

This is a good news story, in that a wild peregrine has been successfully rehabilitated and released, but disturbingly, this incident can be added to what looks like a growing trend in a different method of persecution – shooting. Has anyone else noticed this? In recent months there have been quite a few reported shootings, including golden eagles, hen harriers, red kites and buzzards. Is it a real trend or is the media just getting more savvy at reporting these incidents?

Reported poisoning incidents are dropping, of that there’s no doubt. Whether that’s a reflection of a downturn in actual poisoning incidents or simply an indication that gamekeepers are getting smarter at hiding the evidence remains to be seen. The cynical amongst us may believe that the method of persecution has simply been switched…

Northumberland gamekeeper cautioned for trap offences

Yes folks, here’s another one…

RSPB press release:

A gamekeeper from Northumberland has been cautioned by Northumbria Police after failing to attend and properly check a crow cage trap over a fifteen day period in December last year.  The trap had captured three buzzards on one occasion.

RSPB covert surveillance cameras monitored the trap belonging to a shoot in South West Northumberland and found that the trap operator had failed to attend the trap at any point during the filming. Footage showed the trap had captured three buzzards.  All three buzzards were released unharmed, two by passing members of the public and the third by the RSPB.  The video footage later showed the third buzzard had been in the cage trap for two days.

Investigations by Northumbria police, assisted by the RSPB, identified the trap operator, who during a police interview admitted to failing to check the trap properly each day and failing to release the third buzzard out of the trap. Failure to operate the trap lawfully is contrary to the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.

Howard Jones from RSPB investigations stated: “It is unknown how these buzzards would have fared if they had not been released.  It further highlights the issue of birds of prey being attracted to crow cage traps and the vital importance that operators responsibly manage their traps.”

PC Colin Heath of Northumbria Police who led the investigation added: “We will continue to work closely with the RSPB to promote and protect our wild birds and to deal with offenders accordingly.”

Unfortunately, we are unable to name the gamekeeper as he’s been cautioned. We also need to be cautious in naming the location, although we can say it was a family-run shoot.

The big question is, why did this keeper only get a caution? Why wasn’t he charged and prosecuted?

Would you believe it, another guilty gamekeeper!

Another day, another location, another criminal gamekeeper, another wildlife crime conviction, another shit sentence.

This time it’s gamekeeper Shaun Leslie Allanson (37), convicted of crow cage trap misuse on the Blansby Park Estate, nr Pickering, North Yorkshire.

Today at Scarborough Magistrates Court, this ‘professional’ pleaded guilty to intentionally taking a buzzard using a live pigeon in a cage trap on 28 Aug 2012, and using a cage trap with a live pigeon decoy between 31 Aug and 19 Sept.

His punishment? 120 hours community service and £85 costs. Wonder if he’s a member of the National Gamekeepers’ Organisation? We’ll do some asking….

There’s a fuller story in the Telegraph here.

Well done North Yorkshire Police and well done to the Natural England employee who first recognised the crow trap was being used illegally and for releasing the buzzard to safety.

UPDATE 25 February 2013: Convicted gamekeeper has his membership ‘suspended’ (here)