Tag: gamekeeper

Fascinating new details emerge about investigation into raptor persecution on Shaftesbury Estate in Dorset

Earlier this year, criminal gamekeeper Paul Allen was sentenced for multiple wildlife, poisons and firearms offences committed on the Shaftesbury Estate in Dorset in 2021 (see here).

He first came to the attention of the police after a member of the public discovered a dead red kite on the estate in November 2020. Tests revealed it contained the poison Bendiocarb and this triggered a multi-agency raid in March 2021 led by Dorset Police’s (now former) wildlife crime officer Claire Dinsdale.

The poisoned red kite found on the Shaftesbury Estate by Dorset resident Johanna Dollerson

Officers found the corpses of six dead buzzards by a pen behind the gamekeeper’s house (tests later showed they had all been shot, including one that was was estimated to have been shot in the last 24hrs). Officers also found the remains (bones) of at least three more buzzards on a bonfire.

A loaded shotgun was found propped up behind a kitchen door (!) and 55 rounds of ammunition were found in a shed. Both the gun and the ammunition should have been inside a locked, specifically-designed gun cabinet, by law. The gun and the ammunition were not covered by Allen’s firearms certificate.

Officers also found a number of dangerous, and banned, chemicals, including two bottles of Strychnine, two containers of Cymag and a packet of Ficam W (Bendiocarb) in various locations, including in a vehicle used by Allen.

Some of you may also recall that Allen was initially charged with killing the red kite, but court records showed that this charge, along with two others, was subsequently dropped minutes before the hearing (see here), probably as some kind of bargaining agreement between the lawyers.

Allen was sentenced in February 2023 and escaped a custodial sentence due to his personal circumstances (see here).

If you recall, the Shaftesbury Estate was also where a young satellite-tagged poisoned white-tailed eagle was found dead, a year later, in January 2022. Tests revealed the eagle’s liver contained seven times the lethal dose of the rodenticide Brodifacoum but Dorset Police refused to conduct a search of the estate, despite already running an investigation into gamekeeper Paul Allen’s crimes on the same estate(!), and they still haven’t provided a credible explanation for that appalling decision (see here).

Now new details have emerged about what was found during the investigation into gamekeeper Allen, thanks to Guy Shorrock, a member of the PAW Forensics Working Group and a former Senior Investigator at RSPB. Guy has written a guest blog for Wild Justice to demonstrate how the Raptor Forensics Fund, initiated by Wild Justice in 2020, has been used to help bring a number of criminal gamekeepers to court.

In that guest blog, Guy discusses the forensic testing undertaken on a ‘cut open’ dead rat that had been found next to the red kite’s corpse. Tests revealed it, too, contained the poison Bendiocarb – in other words, it had been placed as a poisoned bait. Forensic testing also confirmed that the kite had consumed part of a brown rat. You don’t have to be Poirot to piece it all together but even though Allen’s vehicle contained multiple pots of Bendiocarb, this still isn’t sufficient evidence to demonstrate without reasonable doubt that he was responsible for placing the poisoned bait that killed that red kite. This is a very good example of just how high the criminal burden of proof is and why so many prosecutions against gamekeepers have failed.

What has also been revealed is that in addition to being poisoned by Bendiocarb, that red kite also contained NINE times the lethal level of the rodenticide Brodifacoum in its system!! Sound familiar? The dead white-tailed eagle, found on the same estate a year later, contained seven times the lethal dose. To me, this makes Dorset Police’s decision not to search the Shaftesbury Estate even more non-sensical than previously thought.

Wild Justice has asked its legal team to examine Dorset Police’s botched handling of the poisoned white-tailed eagle case and expects to have more news on that in due course.

Meanwhile, I’d really encourage you to read Guy’s guest blog on Wild Justice’s website (here), published this morning, for a fascinating insight into the pain-staking forensic work that goes in to prosecuting those who continue to kill raptors.

The Raptor Forensics Fund, initiated by Wild Justice and supported by donations from the Northern England Raptor Forum, Tayside & Fife Raptor Study Group, Devon Birds, and a number of generous individuals who wish to remain anonymous, is now running low (because it’s been used so often!). Wild Justice intends to top up the fund shortly. If you’d like to donate to Wild Justice’s work, please click here. Thank you.

Millden Estate says it will appeal General Licence restriction imposed after evidence of raptor persecution

Earlier this week, NatureScot announced it had imposed a three-year General Licence restriction on Millden Estate in the Angus Glens, after three shot buzzards were found in bags outside gamekeepers’ cottages on the estate in 2019 (see here and here).

In an article subsequently published by The Courier this week (here), an unnamed spokesperson for Millden Estate said they would appeal the decision.

Quotes from Millden Estate cited in The Courier article include:

“The estate does not condone or tolerate any illegal activity relating to the welfare of animals or wildlife“,

and

“We are extremely disappointed by this decision and intend to appeal“

and

“The estate does not condone or tolerate any illegal activity relating to the welfare of animals or wildlife and it has robust and comprehensive systems in place to ensure compliance with the law.

“We were shocked at the time to learn of all allegations of wildlife crime against an employee of the estate. He was subject to an extensive investigation by the police and the crown and dealt with.

“The employee involved was suspended by the estate with immediate effect and resigned a few days later when the police investigation was still at an early stage.

“At no stage was the estate itself the focus of the investigation. We consider that the estate is being unfairly penalised for events not within its control and for which it bore no responsibility.”

The last three sentences from the estate are mostly what I would describe as being a red herring because they relate to the conviction of Millden Estate gamekeeper Rhys Davies for badger-baiting and other sadistic animal welfare offences, which took place at locations away from Millden Estate (although he kept his mutilated and scarred fighting dogs kennelled at Millden; injuries that the Crown Office described as ‘obvious injuries’ but which apparently went unnoticed by Davies’ gamekeeper colleagues and bosses for months).

Two of gamekeeper Rhys Davies’ obviously mutilated dogs, tethered to what appears to be a work vehicle. Photo: SSPCA

Oh, and the estate WAS the focus of the investigation into gamekeeper Rhys Davies as the search warrant included a provision to search various sites on Millden Estate looking for evidence of badger sett disturbance (I’m not aware that any was found there). And Davies’ tied cottage and associated outbuildings on the estate were also searched, under warrant, where a number of serious firearms offences were uncovered, specifically, an unsecured Benelli shotgun was found propped up against a wall near the front door; two unsecured rifles were also found: a Tikka .243 rifle on the sofa and a CZ rifle in the hall cupboard next to the open gun cabinet;  and an assortment of unsecured ammunition was found including 23 bullets in a pot on the floor, five in a carrier bag behind the front door and one on top of a bed, according to a statement by the Crown Office.

So why do I think the latest remarks from Millden Estate to the journalist from The Courier are a red herring? Well, simply because the General Licence restriction hasn’t been imposed on Millden Estate for Davies’ depraved offences – it has absolutely nothing to do with him or his crimes. The General Licence restriction has been imposed after the discovery of three shot buzzards shoved inside bags outside two gamekeepers’ houses (found during the SSPCA/Police raid at Millden when they were investigating Davies) as well as ‘incidents relating to trapping offences’, for which Davies, nor anybody else, has been prosecuted.

Tellingly, the Millden Estate spokesperson fails to mention any of this detail, but instead focuses on how Davies has been ‘dealt with’ [convicted] and is no longer employed at Millden. Irrelevant, mate.

Of course, Millden Estate is entitled to appeal NatureScot’s decision to impose a General Licence restriction, as laid out in the framework for restrictions on NatureScot’s website (here). Although to be honest it’s all a bit absurd as the estate has already had one opportunity to appeal, when NatureScot first notified Millden of its intention to restrict the General Licence. Now it gets another bite of the cherry.

But so be it. Other estates with a restriction have also previously appealed, and all have failed. For example, Raeshaw Estate lost a judicial review in 2017 here; Leadhills Estate lost an appeal in 2019 here (and this is really worth reading- it’s hilariously inept); and Leadhills Estate lost another appeal in 2021 after a second GL restriction was imposed here; Lochan Estate in Strathbraan lost its appeal in 2022 here; Invercauld Estate lost its appeal in 2022 here; and Moy Estate also lost its appeal in 2022 here).

Millden Estate must lodge its appeal in writing within 14 days of receiving its General Licence restriction notice from NatureScot. That will trigger a suspension of the restriction notice (ridiculous, I know!) until such time as NatureScot has undertaken the appeal process, which it tries to complete within four weeks.

Millden is yet another grouse-shooting estate to be sanctioned after police find evidence of raptor persecution

Further to this morning’s news that Millden Estate in the Angus Glens has been slapped with a three-year General Licence restriction after evidence was found of raptor persecution crimes (see here), it’s worth examining the background to this case.

Millden is one of a number of grouse-shooting estates situated in the Angus Glens that has featured many, many times on this blog (see here for all Millden posts).

Location of Millden Estate in the Angus Glens. Estate boundaries sourced from Andy Wightman’s Who Owns Scotland website

Millden Estate first came to my attention in July 2009 when a young satellite-tagged golden eagle called Alma was found dead on the moor – she’d ingested the deadly poison Carbofuran (here). It wasn’t clear where she’d been poisoned and the estate denied responsibility.

Then in 2012 there was the case of another satellite-tagged golden eagle, believed to have been caught in a spring trap on Millden Estate before moving, mysteriously, several km north during the night-time only to be found dead in a layby with two broken legs a few days later (here and here). The estate denied responsibility and the Scottish Gamekeepers Association conducted an ‘analysis’ (cough) and deduced it was all just a terrible accident (here).

There have been other incidents – former Tayside Police Wildlife Crime Officer Alan Stewart describes ‘a horrendous catalogue of criminality’ recorded on Millden Estate during his time (see here). However, despite this history, nobody has ever been prosecuted for raptor persecution crimes on Millden Estate.

Today’s announcement from NatureScot that a General Licence restriction has been imposed on Millden Estate is the first sanction I’m aware of at this location. It has been imposed after three shot buzzards were found in bags outside two gamekeeper’s cottages during an SSPCA-led investigation into badger-baiting and other animal-fighting offences in 2019.

That investigation led to the successful conviction in May 2022 of depraved Millden Estate gamekeeper Rhys Davies for his involvement in some sickening animal cruelty crimes (see here). Despite his conviction, Millden Estate denied all knowledge of this employee’s criminal activities (here).

There hasn’t been a prosecution for the shooting (or possession) of those three shot buzzards, nor for the six other shot raptors found in a bag just a short distance from the Millden Estate boundary (here), and nor will there be, according to a statement provided to me by the Crown Office (here).

With this long history of un-attributable wildlife crime on and close to Millden Estate, the imposition of a General Licence restriction is welcome news, although in real terms it’s nothing more than a minor inconvenience to the estate. It doesn’t stop their legal killing of so-called pest species (e.g. crows) because all they have to do is apply for an Individual licence, which NatureScot will have to grant (although it can revoke an Individual licence if more evidence of crime emerges – as happened on Raeshaw Estate in 2017 – see here), and nor does it stop the legal killing of red grouse, pheasants or red-legged partridge by paying guests.

This photograph appeared on social media in 2017 titled ‘Team Millden’ and shows a bunch of blokes dressed in Millden tweed grinning inside the estate’s larder after a day’s grouse shooting.

I’ve written about the monumental ineffectiveness of General Licence restrictions many times (e.g. see here, here, here, here, here) and my view hasn’t changed. The only weight that a General Licence restriction carries is a reputational hit for the estate on which it is imposed, which was the Environment Minister’s aim when GL restrictions were first mooted (here).

This is useful from a campaigner’s perspective because it allows us to demonstrate that raptor persecution continues on Scottish grouse moors, despite the absurd denials of senior industry representatives (e.g. see here).

But it doesn’t stop the estate’s business activities. You might think that others in the industry, or even elected politicians, would shun a restricted estate but that simply doesn’t happen (e.g. see here and here).

And nor is it an effective deterrent – Leadhills Estate, a grouse moor in South Lanarkshire, was slapped with a second General Licence restriction after ‘clear evidence’ of wildlife crime was uncovered whilst the estate was still serving its first restriction notice (see here)!

Given the current number of grouse-shooting estates serving General Licence restrictions after ‘clear evidence’ of wildlife crime was provided by Police Scotland: Leadhills Estate (here), Lochan Estate (here), Leadhills Estate [again] (here), Invercauld Estate (here), Moy Estate (here) and now Millden Estate (here), it’s clear that the Scottish Government’s proposed grouse-shoot licensing scheme can’t come soon enough.

There are strong rumours that the Wildlife Management (Grouse) Bill will be presented to the Scottish Parliament before Easter and many of us are eagerly awaiting its publication to see the details of what is proposed and, importantly, how it will be enforced.

One thing’s for sure, it will need to be a lot more robust than the General Licence restriction and any sanctions, which should hopefully include terminating an estate’s ability to continue gamebird shooting during a determined-sanction period, will need to be deployed a lot quicker than the time it takes for a General Licence restriction to be imposed (it’s taken four years for the GL restriction to be placed on Millden Estate).

UPDATE 10th March 2023: Millden Estate says it will appeal General Licence restriction imposed after evidence of raptor persecution (here)

Dorset landowner cleared of assaulting gamekeeper & beater after argument over low number of gamebirds available to be shot

There’s been widespread media coverage of a court case at Weymouth Magistrates this week, which mostly focused on a ‘frustrated’ landowner, William Elder, throwing a dead partridge at his gamekeeper, Daniel Burden, and the gamekeeper throwing it back at his boss, after an argument about whether paying guests had been given the best opportunity to shoot as many pheasants and partridges as they’d paid to kill on a shoot day at Stancombe Farm in Askerswell, Dorset.

This article from The Telegraph provides a pretty good overview of the case. [Update – the article has been reproduced in full at the end of this blog]

Despite the sensationalist media headlines, the partridge-throwing incident wasn’t really the focus of the case. The landowner had been charged with two counts of assault – one for allegedly kicking and chest-bumping his gamekeeper, and one for allegedly kicking a teenage beater up the backside.

Magistrates cleared Mr Elder of both assault charges (the magistrates’ reasoning is included in the Telegraph article – worth a read!).

We often hear about the tensions between shoot owners and their gamekeepers, and the sometimes unspoken pressure that shoot/landowners place on their employees to produce sufficient quantities of gamebirds, whether that be pheasants, partridges or grouse, to satisfy the expectations of paying shooting guests. This is often provided as an explanation for why some gamekeepers illegally kill birds of prey. And although this particular case doesn’t involve allegations of raptor persecution, it does provide clear evidence of those tensions, only this time they were spoken and came straight from the shoot owner’s mouth.

UPDATE: The Telegraph article in full:

A landowner threw a dead partridge at his gamekeeper in a falling out over the lacklustre spoils of a £15,000 game shoot, a court has been told.

Farmer William Elder took issue with the direction his team of beaters were driving pheasants and partridge at his Dorset farm.

With guns paying almost £2,000 each for the day’s shooting, he was concerned some of them hadn’t bagged enough birds – and would ask for their money back.

He was charged with assault after an argument with his gamekeeper and a teenage beater over the issue.

Mr Elder, who was standing with the guns, berated gamekeeper Daniel Burden and the beaters over the radio, causing some of them to walk off in protest.

Later, the 60-year-old farmer and Mr Burden came together at the farm with both men accusing each other of acting aggressively.

Mr Elder claimed his gamekeeper threatened to “belt” him and the shoot captain, Steve Smith, had to come between the pair.

A court heard Mr Elder then threw a partridge he was holding at Mr Burden, hitting him on the leg.

In retaliation, the gamekeeper picked up the dead bird and threw it back at his boss.

Mr Burden, who is in his 40s, further claimed the farmer “chest bumped” him and then kicked him several times in the legs.

One beater also accused Mr Elder of assaulting him in the disagreement over the way the pheasants were being flushed out of woods.

The teenager, who can’t be named for legal reasons, claimed Mr Elder kicked him in the backside and told him to “get off my land”.

Mr Elder denied both allegations of assault, but admitted to throwing the patridge out of sheer frustration.

The partridge throw wasn’t included in the assault charge.

He was found not guilty of both charges following a trial at Weymouth Magistrates’ Court on Thursday.

The court heard that the incident happened towards the end of a day of shooting on Stancombe Farm in the village of Askerswell, Dorset, on Nov 11 2021.

Mr Elder has run shoots on his 700-acre farm for 35 years and the event in question was one of the first to be held after the relaxation of Covid rules.

The shoot involved eight guns standing at set pegs at the bottom of a hill and the team of beaters driving out pheasants and partridge at the top.

There had been three drives in the morning and breaks for elevenses and lunch without any issues.  

But during the afternoon drive, Mr Elder became angry when he felt one end of the line was pushing the birds the wrong way.

He later explained he was aware that three of his clients positioned on one side of the estate had only bagged between 10 and 15 birds.

Mr Elder, who has owned the farm for 40 years, said: “My prepared statement was written within hours of the incident because I was going to bring a complaint against [the two complainants].

“Also the gunners could have come back with a financial claim on me so I also wrote it to show the gunners I was not at fault.

“I am responsible for the whole game, anything I say to the beaters they have to do. I can’t have people running around doing what they want.

“They have to follow my orders from a safety point of view because you have got people with guns. I’m not rude, I just give sharp orders.

“One side of the line kept moving the birds the wrong way. I had three guns who weren’t having any shooting.

“The five guns on the other end had lots, about 70 to 80 shots each, the three guns on the right side probably only had 10 to 15 shots each.

“He kept on moving when I expressly asked him not to. In the end I did say a sharp order ‘for god’s sake, please stop’.

“I was trying to get the birds over the other guns.”

Mr Burden said: “Everything was going well as far as I was concerned.

“Mr Elder was complaining the other end of the line was moving and coming in too quickly.

“From where I was I could see the other end of the beating line. Mr Elder wasn’t correct.

“As we got towards the end I realised some of the beaters had left due to the way he was talking to him so on the radio I told Mr Elder we couldn’t do another drive after this one because some of them had left and we didn’t have enough beaters to do it.”

Magistrates heard that the teenage beater first encountered Mr Elder on his way back to the farm.

Mr Elder claimed the teen was “extremely aggressive” and had a beater’s flag raised above his head so he kicked out in self-defence.

He said: “He started shouting at me that I don’t know anything about running a shoot and ‘we’re gonna do you’. He pushed past me, hitting me with his shoulder, and I pushed him away with my boot on his backside.”

Back at the farm Mr Elder said he told his clients not to tip the keeper because he had “lost the plot”.

Describing what happened with Mr Burden, he said: “Dan said ‘I’m going to f—— well belt you’ and Steve had to step in front of him.

“I said ‘go on, hit me, don’t just threaten me’ and in a fit of frustration I threw a partridge. It was supposed to hit the ground but it actually hit Dan at his feet.

“He started shouting all sorts of stupid names like ‘p—-’ and then threw the partridge back at me.

“Dan said ‘I’m going to bloody well hit you’ again but Steve said ‘no stop’ and I told him to go and never come back.”

Robert Ford, chairman of the bench, said the court had two contradictory statements regarding the alleged assault of Mr Burden and so they could not be sure beyond reasonable doubt that it happened.

With the alleged assault on the teenager, Mr Ford said they accepted Mr Elder was a man of good character and that he believed he perceived a threat and the push was proportionate.

The court found Mr Elder not guilty of both charges.

ENDS

Natural England’s response to sentencing of criminal gamekeeper Paul Allen

Following the sentencing last week of criminal gamekeeper Paul Allen in Dorset (here), I’ve been reviewing the responses from various organisations including the RSPB (here), the game-shooting industry (here) and Dorset Police (here).

Today I’m reviewing Natural England’s response.

Natural England (NE) published the following blog (reproduced below) on the day Allen was sentenced (16th Feb 2023):

By Stephanie Bird-Halton, National Delivery Director.

Today, Paul Allen, a gamekeeper working on the Shaftesbury Estate in Dorset, was sentenced for offences of possession of dead buzzards, keeping of banned pesticides and failing to comply with conditions of shotgun and firearms certificates.

Natural England is determined to tackle the scourge of raptor persecution. One of our roles involves investigating incidents where wildlife has been poisoned and we assisted Dorset Police in in this prosecution, gathering evidence and providing specialist technical advice. We are extremely pleased that he has been held to account for his appalling offences against wildlife.

This case, and the death in Dorset of one of the stunning White-tailed Eagles reintroduced to the Isle of Wight, are clear examples of a wider problem: the widespread misuse and abuse of poisons in the countryside which is killing birds of prey, and poses ongoing risks to the public.

During the coronavirus lockdown period, there was a spike in the number of poisoning cases reported with 230 accepted into the Wildlife Incident Investigation Scheme (WIIS) in 2020/21 as compared with 124 in 2019/20 and the problem has not gone away. In 2021/22, Natural England accepted 133 incidents of animal deaths suspected to be poisonings into WIIS. Cases remain unevenly spread throughout England with the highest number of incidents consistently being found in North Yorkshire (28 in 2019/20 and 54 in 2020/21).

When we investigate an incident and confirm it is a poisoning, we assess the evidence gathered, post-mortem results and tissue analysis to find out if the poisoning was as a result of a misuse or abuse of pesticides. Misuse is not following the legal requirements of use, whereas abuse is deliberate use in an illegal manner to poison animals. Where the evidence is unclear, cases are classified as “unspecified”. Not all cases accepted into investigation reach the assessment process, particularly where it becomes clear that pesticides have not been involved in the death of the animal.

In 2020/21, 37 cases of animal poisoning were assessed as being the result of abuse. There were six cases of misuse and 140 unspecified. 21 of the abuse cases related to the poisoning of raptors and these cases were passed on to the Police for further investigation.

The RSPB’s Bird crime 2021 report, published last November tells the same story of raptor persecution, with 80 confirmed incidents of bird of prey persecution in England, mainly through shooting, trapping or poisoning.

Based on data from WIIS, from 2016 onward, Natural England has observed a particular increase in frequency of Second-Generation Anticoagulant Rodenticides (SGARS) being linked to the cause of death in animals or being found in relatively high concentrations in those animals.

Rodent control is essential to public health and users of rodenticides, including SGARS, span many industries including pest controllers, farmers and food producers. Other users of rodenticides include the game shooting industry. The use of anticoagulant rodenticides by professional users must follow the requirements of the industry led rodenticide stewardship regime Campaign for Responsible Rodenticide Use UK set up in 2016, as well as complying with the product label requirements.

It is imperative that anyone dealing with a rodent problem keeps within the law, follows the best practice guidelines, only using rodenticides after alternatives have been explored and doing so in a graduated, careful and responsible way, ensuring that rodent carcasses are disposed of promptly. However, cases of raptors dying with high levels of rodenticides in their system suggest there is a problem with the use of rodenticides – whether this be from deliberate abuse or misuse.

NE will continue to play its part, investigating poisoning incidents and working with the police and other partners to prosecute offences. Anyone can help – reports from the public can play an essential part in identifying cases of raptor persecution. However, without all landowners, land managers and gamekeepers complying with the law and reporting illegal activity, the impact on our wildlife will continue.

ENDS

It’s a bit all over the place to be honest, mostly focusing on the mis-use of rodenticides, which, whilst important in the wider scheme of things, had nothing whatsoever to do with gamekeeper Paul Allen’s conviction.

It’s interesting though that they mention the poisoned white-tailed eagle that was found dead on the same estate ten months after Allen’s crimes were discovered (and for which nobody has been held responsible because Dorset Police botched the investigation). Natural England had a role to play in the follow-up to that botched investigation, along with the Health & Safety Executive, and I’ll return to this once NE has responded to some pending Freedom of Information requests.

The last sentence in NE’s statement is just laughable:

‘However, without all landowners, land managers and gamekeepers complying with the law and reporting illegal activity, the impact on our wildlife will continue‘.

You don’t say!

But at least NE has explicitly laid the blame of raptor persecution at the door of the game-shooting industry. That is helpful from a campaigning perspective.

In addition to this blog, NE’s Chief Executive Marian Spain tweeted about the case:

She came in for some criticism from others on Twitter for failing to mention the other partners involved with this successful prosecution, notably the RSPB, just as Dorset Police had failed to acknowledge their involvement. Although in Marian’s case I doubt this was a deliberate, petty and vindictive move, unlike Dorset Police’s probable motivation.

But what struck me most about her tweet was her claim that one of the ways NE works to tackle raptor persecution is by ‘working with shooting bodies to change attitudes‘ and by ‘prosecuting offenders‘.

How’s that going then, Marian? How many attitudes has NE changed? Given that 2020 saw the highest level of reported raptor persecution crimes in 30 years (here) and the most recent report from 2021 had the second highest number on record (here), I’d argue that attitudes haven’t changed one bit.

She might point to DEFRA’s ludicrous hen harrier brood meddling sham as ‘evidence of changed attitudes’ (because a handful of grouse moor owners are now ‘allowing’ hen harriers to breed) but I’d point out that since hen harrier brood meddling began in 2018, at least 77 hen harriers are known to have been illegally killed or have gone ‘missing’, mostly on or close to grouse moors (here). That’s not a change in attitude. That’s evidence of on-going law breaking by an industry that NE has jumped into bed with, switched on the electric blanket and pulled up the duvet.

And as for ‘prosecuting offenders‘, I think Guy Shorrock’s tweet says it all (Guy, a now-retired RSPB Investigator, worked for 30 years in this field so I think he’s well placed to ask the question):

Dorset Police response to sentencing of criminal gamekeeper Paul Allen

Well it’s taken them long enough, but finally Dorset Police has managed to issue a statement about the conviction and sentencing of criminal gamekeeper Paul Allen, who pleaded guilty to multiple wildlife, poisons and firearms offences whilst working on the Shaftesbury Estate in March 2021.

You’ll recall I was surprised when Dorset Police failed to mention anything about Allen’s forthcoming court appearance and subsequent conviction back in January, despite the force publishing statements about a wide variety of other criminal cases at various stages of progression through the criminal justice system (see here), but at last, they’ve got around to saying something. Although what they’ve chosen to exclude from this press statement is far more revealing than what they’ve chosen to include.

The following statement was published on the Dorset Police website last Thursday:

A man has been sentenced at court for wildlife and firearms offences in East Dorset following a multi-agency investigation led by rural crime officers.

Paul Scott Allen, aged 54, was sentenced at Weymouth Magistrates’ Court on Thursday 16 February 2023 after admitting a total of seven offences at a previous hearing.

The defendant pleaded guilty to two counts of possessing a live or dead wild bird under schedule 1 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and two charges of failing to comply with the conditions of a firearms certificate.

Allen also admitted the following offences:

Using a biocidal product in contravention of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.

Possessing an unlawful substance under the Plant Protection Products Regulations 2012

Possessing a regulated substance without a licence under the Poisons Act 1972.

Allen was sentenced to 15 weeks in prison, suspended for 12 months. He was also ordered to pay fines and compensation totalling more than £2,900. 

The investigation was launched by Dorset Police’s Rural Crime Team following reports of suspected bird poisonings on a rural estate in East Dorset.

Following work with partner agencies including Natural England and the National Wildlife Crime Unit, a warrant was executed on Thursday 18 March 2021. During searches a number of dead birds of prey were located.

Officers also searched the address of Allen, a gamekeeper at the estate, and found a shotgun and ammunition, which were not covered by the defendant’s firearms certificate. Further enquiries uncovered a number of prohibited toxins at the premises.

Allen was interviewed by officers and – following detailed enquiries and liaison with experts from the Crown Prosecution Service – was charged with the various offences.

Chief Inspector David Parr, of Dorset Police, said: “We take all reports of wildlife crime and rural criminality very seriously. This case has seen us work with partners including Natural England and the National Wildlife Crime Unit to compile evidence before liaising with the Crown Prosecution Service Specialist Wildlife Prosecutor who agreed to the charges against the defendant.

“Wildlife crime remains a key objective of the recently expanded Dorset Police Rural Crime Team and we will continue to work with our partners to investigate criminal offences and deal with offenders robustly.”

Stephanie Bird-Halton, National Delivery Director for Natural England, said following the hearing: “Natural England is determined to tackle the scourge of persecution of our birds of prey. We assisted Dorset Police in this prosecution, gathering evidence and providing specialist technical advice. We are pleased Allen has been held to account for his offences against our wildlife. 

“Without landowners and land managers complying with the law and reporting illegal activity, the impact on our wildlife will continue.

“If members of the public spot birds of prey they suspect may have been poisoned, we would ask them to contact the police, but not to touch the bird.”

Angharad Thomas, the CPS Wessex Wildlife Lead, said: “We work closely with the police on all wildlife related cases to make sure there is sufficient evidence to meet our legal test for prosecution.

“In this case, the review of extensive and complex evidence made it clear that Allen’s offending posed a significant threat to human and animal life, as well as having a negative impact on the countryside.

“Anyone acting otherwise than in accordance with firearms licences or in contravention of laws intended to protect our wildlife and countryside will be prosecuted.”

ENDS

To a casual observer, this press statement is straightforward, detailed and complimentary about a number of partners involved in the investigation that led to a successful conviction. Hooray! Tea and medals all round! But for those of us who’ve taken more than a passing interest in this case, what this statement actually is is petty and vindictive.

Why do I think that? Well, look closely and you’ll see that one of the significant partners in this multi-agency investigation, the RSPB, has been erased completely from the narrative by Dorset Police.

The statement mentions other partners including the NWCU, Natural England and the CPS, but there’s no mention whatsoever of the RSPB or the specialist role it brought to the case, from initial liaison with the (now former) Dorset Police wildlife crime officer, Claire Dinsdale, to helping plan and then conduct the search under warrant of Allen’s premises, to providing expert guidance on what was found, organising the forensics testing on the exhibits, then having considerable input into the file preparation for submitting to the CPS and then considerable liaison with the CPS itself.

As you can see, the RSPB wasn’t just along for the ride, it made an important and weighty contribution to the case, so why has Dorset Police gone out of its way to exclude it? My guess would be that it’s because the RSPB has been extremely supportive of Claire Dinsdale as she continues to battle senior officers over the botched investigation into the poisoned white-tailed eagle (an on-going saga).

I was also amused to read in the press statement the quote from Chief Inspector David Parr of Dorset Police, who said: “We take all reports of wildlife crime and rural criminality very seriously….. Wildlife crime remains a key objective of the recently expanded Dorset Police Rural Crime Team and we will continue to work with our partners to investigate criminal offences and deal with offenders robustly.”

Yeah, right, as long as it doesn’t involve conducting a police search on a shooting estate to look for evidence about who might have poisoned a white-tailed eagle, especially if a gamekeeper on that estate just happens to already be under investigation for multiple wildlife, poisons and firearms offences, and especially if a local Conservative MP has been kicking off about ‘wasting police resources on investigating wildlife crime’. Yeah, apart from that, Dorset Police will ‘continue to work with our partners [apart from the RSPB] to investigate criminal offences and deal with offenders robustly‘.

Game-shooting industry’s response to sentencing of Dorset gamekeeper Paul Allen

Further to last week’s blog about criminal gamekeeper Paul Allen’s sentencing for committing multiple wildlife, poisons and firearms offences on the Shaftesbury Estate in Dorset (here), here is a round-up of responses from the organisations within the game-shooting industry who also serve on the Raptor Persecution Priority Delivery Group (RPPDG), whose main objective is to raise awareness amongst the organisations’ members about illegal raptor persecution and prevent these crimes from happening:

Convicted gamekeeper Paul Allen. Photo: BNPS

National Gamekeepers Association: The previous statement published by the National Gamekeepers Organisation (NGO), after Allen had pleaded guilty at a hearing in January, was so cryptic that the casual visitor to the NGO website wouldn’t have known it related to Allen and his crimes (see here).

So it’s pleasing to see that this time the NGO has published a statement acknowledging that criminal gamekeeper Paul Allen is an NGO member and that he has now been expelled. The following statement has prominent billing on the NGO’s website:

Expulsion from membership is good, and I applaud the NGO for publicising this action, although in reality it has no bearing whatsoever on Allen’s ability to continue working as a gamekeeper. Although often described by the shooting industry as a ‘profession’, gamekeeping isn’t regulated in the same way as I what I understand to be an actual ‘profession’.

For example, in many other (actual) professions, you’d be disbarred/struck off from practicing if convicted of an offence, especially an offence commissioned whilst undertaking your ‘professional’ duties. Not so for gamekeeping – you can be chucked out of one of the membership clubs but you can still ‘practice’/be employed as a gamekeeper even with a criminal conviction. We’ve seen this happen on many occasions, where a convicted gamekeeper has simply moved to another estate and carried on as though nothing has happened.

I note that the NGO’s statement on Allen has not been publicised on the NGO’s Twitter or Facebook accounts, only on its website.

British Association for Shooting & Conservation: BASC didn’t bother to publish any statement after Allen’s criminal conviction back in January, but it has done now he’s been sentenced, which is progress. The following statement has prominent billing on the BASC website:

As with the NGO’s statement, it’s good to see that BASC also hasn’t tried to be cryptic as its statement is clearly linked to Paul Allen’s crimes, conviction and sentencing.

Predictably, there’s a considerable amount of damage limitation included in the statement, talking about the so-called ‘minority who engage in this criminal behaviour‘ and maintaining that the shooting industry ‘works hard to support sustainable shooting‘ (er, the importation & release of 60+ million non-native gamebirds every year cannot possibly be described as ‘sustainable’!) but at least it’s published something in recognition of Allen’s crimes. Although, as with the NGO, I note that BASC’s statement on Allen has not been publicised on the BASC Twitter or Facebook accounts, only on its website.

COUNTRYSIDE ALLIANCE: Remains silent on Allen’s crimes, conviction and sentencing. No surprise.

COUNTRY LAND & BUSINESS ASSOCIATION (CLA): Remains silent on Allen’s crimes, conviction and sentencing.

I’ll blog shortly about responses to Allen’s sentencing from Dorset Police and Natural England.

RSPB’s response to sentencing of criminal Dorset gamekeeper, Paul Allen

Further to yesterday’s news that criminal gamekeeper Paul Allen had escaped a custodial sentence despite committing multiple wildlife, poisons and firearms offences whilst employed on the Shaftesbury Estate in Dorset (here), the RSPB has issued the following press release:

Gamekeeper fined as dead birds of prey and poisons found on Dorset estate

Gamekeeper Paul Allen (54, of Baileys Hill, Wimborne St Giles) appeared at Weymouth Magistrates’ Court today (16 February 2023) following a guilty plea last month relating to multiple raptor persecution offences.

He was sentenced to 15 weeks in prison, suspended for 12 months for the possession of the buzzards, a £674 fine for failing to comply with firearm regulations, £1,348 for the chemical storage and usage offences, and told to pay £884 compensation [Ed: to Wild Justice’s Raptor Forensics Fund] to cover the cost of the x-rays and post-mortems for the bird carcasses.

The bodies of six shot Buzzards and the remains of three more were discovered in Allen’s yard on the estate in 2021, after a poisoned Red Kite was reported to Dorset Police by a member of the public. The kite contained high levels of brodifacoum, the deadliest rat poison on the market, which also shockingly killed a White-tailed Eagle in the vicinity 10 months later.

The poisoned red kite that triggered a multi-agency search on the Shaftesbury Estate in March 2021, which uncovered gamekeeper Paul Allen’s widespread criminal activities. Photo: RSPB

The search of Allen’s land also uncovered stashes of deadly poisons, including the pesticide bendiocarb – which has been abused for deliberately killing of birds of prey for years – two bottles of the banned substance strychnine, two tins of the banned poison Cymag and the toxic rodenticide brodifacoum. There was also a loaded gun left propped behind a door in Allen’s home.

Allen pleaded guilty to the possession of the dead Buzzards and the poisons.

All birds of prey are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and killing them is against the law, punishable by an unlimited fine and/or jail. In November, the RSPB published the Birdcrime report 2021, which revealed 108 confirmed incidents of raptor persecution in the UK. 71% of these occurred in relation to land managed for gamebird shooting.

A satelite-tagged White-tailed Eagle, poisoned with seven times the lethal dose of brodifacoum, was found dead 10 months later on the same estate, although it is unknown exactly where it picked up the poison. However, in a disappointing turn of events, the investigation was unexpectedly and prematurely shut down by Dorset Police before a full follow-up search could take place, despite police knowledge that the same substance had been found on the same estate during the investigation at court today.

Mark Thomas, UK Head of Investigations at the RSPB, said: “It is clear that the use of the lethal rat poison brodifacoum needs much tighter regulation and controls over use, as it is clearly being both misused and abused to kill birds of prey. At the very least this product should be restricted to indoor use only, as it was before the Government relaxed its use in 2016. We also suggest that only accredited pest controllers should be able to use it in specific circumstances. If not, then the unnecessary increase in bird of prey deaths, including White-tailed Eagles and Red Kites, will continue.”

ENDS

In addition to this press release, RSPB investigations officer Tom Grose has written an excellent blog about the investigation on Shaftesbury Estate into Allen’s criminal activities, and has also provided some information about the poisoned white-tailed eagle that was found on the same estate 10 months later, the investigation that was prematurely cancelled by Dorset Police, despite them knowing all about Allen’s crimes on the same estate. To read Tom’s blog click here.

The RSPB’s investigation team has also produced a short video about both cases, which can be watched via their Twitter account here:

Criminal Dorset gamekeeper Paul Allen receives suspended custodial sentence, despite multiple wildlife, poisons & firearms offences

BREAKING NEWS…..

Further to this morning’s blog (here), criminal gamekeeper Paul Allen, 54, of Baileys Hill, in Brockington, near Wimborne, has been given a suspended custodial sentence and a small fine after he pleaded guilty to multiple wildlife, poisons and firearms offences whilst working on the Shaftesbury Estate in Dorset in March 2021.

For possessing the dead birds (nine buzzards, six confirmed to have been shot), Allen received a total of 15 weeks in prison, suspended for 12 months.

He also received fines totalling £2,022 and compensation to the value of £844.70.

He avoided an immediate custodial sentence on the basis of ‘strong personal mitigation’, which basically means he was saved from jail because of the impact it would have on the care of his two teenagers.

More to follow….

UPDATE 10pm: There’s a really good article on the Dorset Live website about what happened in court this afternoon – well worth a read (here)

UPDATE 17th February 2023: RSPB’s response to sentencing of criminal Dorset gamekeeper, Paul Allen (here)

UPDATE 20th February 2023: Game-shooting industry’s response to sentencing of Dorset gamekeeper Paul Allen (here)

UPDATE 20th February 2023: Dorset Police response to sentencing of criminal gamekeeper Paul Allen (here)

UPDATE 24th February 2023: Natural England’s response to sentencing of criminal gamekeeper Paul Allen (here)

Convicted Dorset gamekeeper Paul Allen due to be sentenced today

Paul Allen, 54, the gamekeeper convicted last month of multiple wildlife, poisons and firearms offences committed on the Shaftesbury Estate, Dorset in March 2021 (here) is due to be sentenced at Weymouth Magistrates Court this afternoon.

Convicted gamekeeper Paul Allen leaving court in January 2023. Photo: BNPS

You may recall, following the discovery of a poisoned red kite on the estate in November 2020, a multi-agency raid led by Dorset Police’s (now former) wildlife crime officer Claire Dinsdale took place in March 2021 (see here) where the corpses of six dead buzzards were found by a pen behind his house (tests later showed they had all been shot, including one that was was estimated to have been shot in the last 24hrs). Officers also found the remains (bones) of at least three more buzzards on a bonfire.

A loaded shotgun was found propped up behind a kitchen door (!) and 55 rounds of ammunition were found in a shed. Both the gun and the ammunition should have been inside a locked, specifically-designed gun cabinet, by law. The ammunition was not covered by Allen’s firearms certificate.

Officers also found a number of dangerous, and banned, chemicals, including two bottles of Strychnine, two containers of Cymag and a packet of Ficam W (Bendiocarb) in various locations, including in a vehicle used by Allen.

Four of the nine dead buzzards found. Photo: RSPB

At a hearing on 4th January 2023, Allen pleaded guilty to seven charges including two counts of possessing a live or dead bird, or parts thereof, one charge of failing to comply with the conditions of a shotgun certificate, one charge of failing to comply with the conditions of a firearms certificate, one count of possessing a regulated substance without a license, one count of failing to comply with  regulations in accordance with the Plant Protection Products (Sustainable Use) Regulations 2012 and one charge of contravening a health and safety regulations.

A number of other charges were dropped minutes before the start of the hearing after some discussion between the defence and the CPS. I’ve annotated this court listing to demonstrate the changes. The court listing was provided by a court clerk at last month’s hearing (thanks to the blog reader who sent it to me).

The court deferred sentencing until today to allow reports to be complied on Allen, to help inform sentencing. In my view these crimes pass the custody threshold but the court will need to consider any mitigating factors. For example, it has been reported elsewhere that Allen is recently widowed and has two teenage children. If he is the sole carer for these children then that will likely impact on the type of sentence he receives, although I would argue that having unsecure, highly dangerous poisons and an unsecure loaded shotgun propped up behind his kitchen door is questionable behaviour for an apparently responsible parent.

Sentencing takes place this afternoon and a large amount of media coverage is anticipated. I’ll report back later.

UPDATE 16.30hrs: Criminal Dorset gamekeeper Paul Allen receives suspended custodial sentence despite committing multiple wildlife, poisons and firearms offences (here)