Tag: pole trap

Gamekeeper’s wildlife crime conviction(s) overturned

Shooting Times has an interesting article out today (see here), claiming that Leicestershire gamekeeper Ivan Crane has had three wildlife crime convictions overturned after the appeal judge claimed the behaviour of the investigating police officer was “very underhand“.

Shooting Times reports that His Honour Judge Tony Mitchell went further with his scathing attack, saying: “I can’t think of a case which more fairly fits an abuse of power, an abuse of position, and therefore an abuse of process“.

It seems the police officer’s [supposed] mistake was not to inform Crane that he could no longer use the General Licence for trapping birds due to his two recent wildlife crime convictions. Instead, the officer took the initiative and covertly filmed a Larsen trap on Crane’s farm.

Crane’s previous wildlife crime convictions were for using an illegal pole trap and unsafe storage of pesticides (see here). He was then later convicted for unlawfully using a Larsen trap (see here), which seems to have been the catalyst to launch his appeal.

Local newspapers (eg. Lutterworth Mail) also seem to be running the story but the actual article appears to be currently unavailable on the web (google it and see if you can find it). One of the headlines (that is accessible) suggests that the Judge has ordered the Crown Prosecution Service to pay Crane’s legal bill of £35,000.

It’s not clear to us whether all three of Crane’s wildlife crime convictions have been overturned (as suggested by Shooting Times) or just the conviction for unlawfully using a Larsen trap.

It’s all a bit odd really. Isn’t it the General Licence user’s responsibility to understand the terms and conditions of General Licence use? It’s a specified requirement on the Scottish General Licences; perhaps not on the English ones? Since when has ignorance of the law been an acceptable defence? To put the situation in context….if someone had a driving conviction and was a disqualified driver, and then they drove their car whilst disqualified and received a second conviction, could they get that conviction overturned and their legal costs paid if they argued that the police officer hadn’t advised them that it was illegal for them to drive and the police had used ‘covert’ surveillance to catch them?

Another fine example of the difficulties faced by those trying to investigate and prosecute alleged wildlife crime offences in the UK. Their chances of success get slimmer by the day.

Photo: an illegal pole trap

Many of our readers will already know what a pole trap looks like, but for those who don’t, here’s a photograph of one (taken recently in Scotland).

These traps were outlawed in the UK in 1904 but are still in regular (illegal) use today. They are nothing short of barbaric. They are often positioned on posts close to game-rearing pens or on exposed posts on grouse moors with the sole intention of catching a perching raptor. When the raptor lands on the trap the spring jaws snap around the leg(s) with such force that the leg is usually broken. When the raptor tries to fly away it is prevented from doing so as the spring trap is nailed to the post. The raptor is left dangling from the post with appalling injuries and usually suffers a prolonged and agonising death (see Tuesday’s photo here).

If you see a pole trap you should report it immediately (to the police, SSPCA, RSPB). If you have to walk away from the trap (e.g. to get a phone signal), take a photograph of the set trap (preferably with a local landscape feature in the background so the photo can be used as evidence) and then disarm it. Use a stick to disarm it – not your fingers – the spring action of these traps is so powerful it can break an eagle’s legs.

news round-up: burned barn owls, shot buzzards & illegal trapping

Police in Merseyside are appealing for information after the charred bodies of six barn owls were discovered in a barn in Moss Lane, Formby. Police believe the owls had been deliberately set on fire. It is not known when they were burned, or whether these were wild or captive owls. Less than half a mile away, the body of a shot buzzard was found. News article in the Liverpool Echo here.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the country a joint police/RSPB investigation has started in North Lincolnshire after the discovery of three dead buzzards in the area since October 2011. At least two of them are believed to have been shot. News article in the Grimsby Telegraph here.

In Leicestershire, a previously convicted farmer/part-time gamekeeper, Ivan Peter Crane, has been fined £2,500 (+ costs) after being convicted of using a Larsen trap without an appropriate licence. Crane already had wildlife crime convictions from April 2011, for trying to kill raptors with an illegal pole-trap and also for the illegal and unsafe storage of pesticides (see here). It was because of these earlier convictions that Crane could no longer trap birds on the farm without applying for an individual licence, which he failed to do. Press release from Natural England here.

Two part-time gamekeepers convicted for trying to kill raptors

Two part-time gamekeepers in England have been convicted of trying to kill raptors with an illegal pole trap. Ivan Peter Crane, and his son, Ivan Mark Crane, were found guilty at Market Harborough Magistrates Court on 21 April 2011 following an investigation by Leceistershire Police, aided by the RSPB.

RSPB investigators discovered the pole trap in August 2010, set on a fencepost next to a pheasant-rearing pen. They undertook surveillance and filmed both men walking and driving past the trap. Lecistershire Police raided Astley Grange Farm, East Langton, Lecistershire, and seized the illegal trap. Both men initially denied any knowledge of the trap but later pleaded guilty in court.

Crane (senior) was fined £1,000 and Crane (junior) was fined £500. Both were ordered to pay £80 costs. Crane (senior) was further fined £2,000 in relation to the illegal and unsafe storage of pesticides on the farm.

Well done to Leceistershire Police and RSPB for securing a conviction.

Full story: http://www.rspb.org.uk/community/blogs/investigations/archive/2011/05/04/caught-on-camera.aspx