Tag: gamekeeper

Following blog posts on 6, 7 and 11 April….

The name of the Perthshire sporting estate raided by Tayside Police earlier this month, following the discovery of poisoned buzzards and poisoned bait in March 2011, has been recently reported on the raptor study group website as Edradynate Estate.

Described by Tayside Police Wildlife Crime Officer Alan Stewart in 2005, “Edradynate Estate, which is owned by an absentee landlord from Hampshire, has probably the worst record in Scotland for poisoning incidents, going back more than a decade. In 14 separate incidents since 1998, 16 poisoned victims (nine buzzards, a cat, a tawny owl, two sparrowhawks, a common gull, a polecat and a crow) and 12 poisoned baits (rabbits, woodpigeons and a pheasant) have been found, with traces of the pesticides mevinphos, carbofuran and alphachloralose”.

His comments were made after the collapse of a trial concerning two gamekeepers from the estate, who were charged with various offences involving the alleged poisoning and trapping of birds of prey. The case was dropped by the Procurator Fiscal, reportedly because of the time taken for the case to be heard. Full story here: http://www.rspb.org.uk/Images/legaleagle43_tcm9-132966.pdf

Since his comments, there have been more discoveries of poisoned birds on this estate, and public denials in the media of any involvement by estate gamekeepers, who claim the dead birds must have been ‘planted’ by someone else. Nobody has ever been convicted for wildlife crime offences on this estate and still the poisoning continues. Let’s hope that Tayside Police are able to detect the perpetrator(s) of the most recent poisoning incident.

Interestingly, it is also reported on the raptor study group website that Edradynate Estate is believed to be a member of the SRPBA and that at least one gamekeeper is a self-confessed member of the SGA. This is difficult to verify though as, conveniently, neither group publicises the names of their members. Both of these groups have made many public statements about how they deplore illegal raptor persecution and how they are working hard to eradicate it. They are both also members of PAW Scotland. It was reported last year that the CEO of the SRPBA paid a visit to Edradynate Estate – perhaps to apply some much needed ‘peer pressure’. If he did, then he is to be congratulated for his efforts, although judging by recent events it would appear that peer pressure was unsuccessful. Or perhaps it was successful, and the latest deaths were attributable to those pesky carcass planters – you know, the ones who have never been seen or heard but who are managing to plant poisoned birds on sporting estates up and down the country…