Tag: gamekeeper

Gamekeeper guilty of wildlife & welfare offences at Culter Allers, Lanarkshire

David Alexander Whitefield, a 41 year old gamekeeper (and a member of the Scottish Gamekeepers Association) at Birthwood Farm, Culter Allers nr Biggar, Lanarkshire, has been fined £300 for the illegal use of a crow trap.

On 4 March 2008, a hillwalker discovered a buzzard caught inside a crow trap. No food, water or shelter was available in the trap, and there was no door to allow the release of non-target species (all requirements of the law). Four inches of snow covered the ground, and no footprints or vehicle tracks were in evidence around the trap, indicating that it hadn’t been checked for at least 48 hours (it is a legal requirement that traps are checked every 24 hours).

On 1 October 2008 at Lanark Sheriff Court, Whitefield pleaded guilty to charges of failing to ensure the welfare of the bird and of recklessly taking a buzzard. In addition to his £300 fine, Whitefield was also banned from using his Scottish Open General Licence for 5 years. http://www.rspb.org.uk/Images/le57_tcm9-212748.pdf

News story here

According to the RSPB report, “The illegal killing of birds of prey in Scotland in 2009”, the following were found at Culter Allers during 2009 –

October 2009: 1 x dead buzzard, 1 x rabbit bait containing alpha-chloralose

November 2009: 2 x dead buzzards, 1 x rabbit bait containing alpha-chloralose

Gamekeeper guilty of killing buzzard on Blakehope Estate, Scottish Borders

A Scottish Borders gamekeeper was convicted of killing a buzzard, setting a poisoned bait and possessing 3 proscribed pesticides on 25 October 2005.

The gamekeeper (name removed under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974) at Blakehope Estate in the Borders pleaded guilty at Jedburgh Sheriff Court on 14 December 2006 to five offences under the Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981.

He was sentenced to 100 hours community service.

Readers could be forgiven for thinking Sheriff Woody had left Toy Story for a day’s work at Jedburgh Sheriff Court.

Two gamekeepers guilty of poisoning offences on Oxnam Estate, Jedburgh

Two Scottish Borders gamekeepers were convicted of possessing proscribed pesticides at Oxnam Estate, Jedburgh, on 22 June 2005.

At Jedburgh Sheriff Court on 14 May 2006, Gamekeeper A (name removed under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974) pleaded guilty to possession of Cymag and Carbofuran, for he which he was respectively fined £100 and admonished.

Gamekeeper B (name removed under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974) pleaded guilty to possession of Carbofuran and was fined £100.

These were all offences under Section 15(A) of the Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981. A fitting punishment and a strong deterrent? The scales of justice seem a wee bit unbalanced.

Gamekeeper convicted of crimes on Innes House Estate, Moray

Police raided Innes House Estate near Elgin, Moray in November 2006 after dying buzzards and crows were seen in a nearby field. Later laboratory testing confirmed the birds carried traces of Carbofuran.

At Elgin Sheriff Court on 30 April 2007, head gamekeeper Michael Royan was found guilty of possessing proscribed pesticides (Carbofuran, Cymag & Alphachloralose) and he was also convicted of a firearms offence. He was fined £1,000.

According to the 2010 Innes House Estate website, Michael Royan is still employed as Head Gamekeeper.

Gamekeeper convicted of poisoning offences on North Glenbuchat Estate, Aberdeenshire

 At Aberdeen Sheriff Court on 12 July 2006, the head gamekeeper on the North Glenbuchat Estate, Strathdon, Aberdeenshire, was found guilty of three offences: killing a wild bird, possession of birds’ eggs, and possession of a proscribed pesticide under the Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981.

The 56 year old head keeper, Hector McNeil, of Whitehillock, Glenbuchat, had worked as a gamekeeper on the Estate for 30 years. He was fined £850.

The RSPB claimed this was one of many cases but a spokesman for the Scottish Gamekeepers Association had said the case was not typical of the profession.

 

 

gamekeeper not guilty of poisoning on Clova Estate, Aberdeenshire

At Aberdeen Sheriff Court in 2007, a 34 year old gamekeeper of Lumsden, Huntley, was accused of killing a peregrine at Clova Estate, Huntley, Aberdeenshire in October/November 2006. He was also accused of having a bottle of poison at his home address and at Tomatin Estate (Invernesshire), and further accused of having an illegal pesticide (Carbofuran) in his possession at his home address and elsewhere.

After long court delays, in early 2009 he was found not guilty of a charge under Section 15(A) of the Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981.

Gamekeeper sentenced for poisoning buzzard at Frogden Farm, Kelso

14 December 2006.

Dead buzzard

A gamekeeper who laced a carcass with poison which killed a wild buzzard has been given 100 hours community service by Sheriff Kevin Drummond. Jedburgh Sheriff Court heard how the 62-year old keeper set a poisoned bait at Frogden Farm, Kelso, where he looked after a pheasant shoot.

The first-time offender, who reportedly lives in one of the farm cottages, also admitted possession of three dangerous pesticides, which he claimed he had inherited from his predecessor. Sheriff Drummond said the keeper was an experienced gamekeeper who had closed his eyes to environmental issues.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/south_of_scotland/6180203.stm

Gamekeeper convicted for dead peregrine on Glenfiddich and Cabrach Estate

According to a report in the Scotland on Sunday newspaper, raids on the Glenfiddich & Cabrach Estate in NE Scotland in February and March 1998 revealed widespread poisoning across the 41,500-acre estate owned by London property tycoon, Christopher Moran. Ten rabbits, six pigeons, six grouse and two hares were reportedly laced with the lethal pesticide Carbofuran and left out on the hill. Three illegal pole traps and an owl whose legs had been smashed by a trap were also reportedly found, along with a dead peregrine inside an estate landrover. Tests revealed the peregrine had been poisoned with carbofuran.

The head gamekeeper was convicted at Elgin Sheriff Court in October 1998 and fined £700.

The estate is owned by multi-millionaire Christopher Moran, a businessman with an interesting past: see here and here.

Gamekeeper receives pitiful fine for poisoning offences on Fairnington Estate, Kelso

In August 2003, dead pheasant poults covered in blue granules were found on the Fairnington Estate, Kelso (owned by Mr Nigel Salvesen), close to a pen used to rear pheasants for shooting. Later tests showed the blue granules contained the banned pesticide, Carbofuran. Further searches revealed more carbofuran in a vehicle and in an unsecured shed, as well as alphachloralose and strychnine. The gamekeeper was charged with 48 offences under the Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981, the Food and Environment Protection Act 1985 (FEPA), and the Firearms Act.

At Jedburgh Sheriff Court in June 2005, after plea-bargaining, the keeper admitted just 4 offences under FEPA and the Firearms Act. His pitiful fine was £190, after reference was made to his poor health and that it was his first known offence.

http://campaignwithus.rspb.org.uk/Images/legaleagle46_tcm9-132969.pdf

Farr Estate gamekeeper’s conviction quashed

A gamekeeper on the Farr Estate, Tomatin, Inverness-shire was fined £1,500 for attempting to trap rare birds of prey. The keeper was found guilty of laying traps to catch peregrine falcons and goshawks. The 37-year-old was convicted at Inverness Sheriff Court in January 2005 at the end of a trial which lasted two years.

Sheriff Donald Booker-Milburn found the keeper, of  Strathdearn, Tomatin, guilty of two charges under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.

The first charge stated that he set a crow cage funnel trap in Kyllachy with the intention of trapping peregrine falcons and goshawks. He used the trap with the funnel open, the door wired shut and two live feral pigeons set within the trap as bait.

The second accused him of possessing nine illegal gin traps, which can be used to trap wild birds and mammals such as foxes and wild cats, for criminal purposes.

RSPB Species Protection Officer Keith Morton said at the time: “We are very encouraged that the sheriff imposed a substantial penalty, as this will highlight the seriousness of this offence”. He added: “It will be interesting to see the reaction of the estate, we suspect there is a great deal of support about this activity among some employers.”

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/4217109.stm

The keeper’s conviction was quashed by the Court of Appeal later in 2005.