Dumfriesshire gamekeeper fined for setting illegal trap

On 12th January 2009 at Dumfries Sheriff Court, part time gamekeeper Jonathon Charles Galbraith of Hightae, Lockerbie, pleaded guilty to two charges under the Wildlife and Countryside Act. These related to the illegal use of a spring trap against wild birds and animals listed under section 6 of the Act.

He was fined £1,400

Example of a Fenn spring trap as used by Galbraith.

On the 21st August 2008 the Scottish SPCA received an anonymous complaint that there was an injured bird in a trap at Kirkhill Farm near Dalton where Galbraith had sole responsibility for the management of a pheasant shoot.

The following day SSPCA officers visited Kirkhill Farm to look for the injured bird and subsequently discovered an un-set spring trap beside a dead pheasant poult next to an active pheasant release pen.

 As officers widened their search of the area they were alerted to an approaching motor vehicle. They then observed Mr Galbraith set the spring trap and place it on top of the dead pheasant poult.

The officers approached Galbraith and interviewed him about the trap. He admitted setting the trap and claimed that “something” was killing his pheasants. Presumably he was referring to a raptor.

Spring traps are often illegally set in this manner or on top of posts to catch raptors and corvids by the legs.

Golden eagle poisoned in Glen Orchy, Argyll

This adult golden eagle was found poisoned in Glen Orchy in June 2009. An estate worker is due in court in the near future.

An adult golden eagle was found dead in a remote area of Glen Orchy, Argyll, on 7 June 2009. A post mortem revealed the eagle had been poisoned. The police say they are following a positive line of enquiry.

Further info: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/dead-golden-eagle-had-been-poisoned-1709512.html

Gamekeeper admits shooting buzzard on Redmyre Estate, Perthshire

Gamekeepers often refer to buzzards and other raptors as 'vermin' - an attitude carried on from unenlightened Victorian times.

Graham Kerr, a gamekeeper on the Redmyre Estate in Abernyte, Perthshire, has pleaded guilty to shooting a buzzard with a rifle on 9 September 2009, because he believed the buzzards were ‘causing concern’ to the pheasants he was rearing for a commercial shoot.

In court in February 2010, Kerr, 53, of Mary Findlay Drive, Dundee,  also admitted the possession of illegal poisons Carbofuran and Alpha-Chloralose which he intended to use to kill other buzzards. He will be sentenced at a later date.

Further info: http://news.scotsman.com/dundee/Gamekeeper–stockpiled-outlawed-poisons.6078206.jp

Red kite shot nr Braco, Perthshire

An x-ray of the injured kite revealed a broken wing and 5 shotgun pellets lodged in the body.

A red kite is recovering after being found with gunshot wounds near the village of Braco, Perthshire. The bird was found by a walker in December 2009. An x-ray revealed a broken wing and five shotgun pellets lodged in its body. No arrests have been made. Further information: http://news.stv.tv/scotland/143113-red-kite-shot-in-rural-perthshire/

1 year old sea eagle found poisoned on Glenogil Estate, Angus

A one year old white-tailed sea eagle was found poisoned on Glenogil Estate in August 2009. The young bird, known as ‘Bird 89’, had been donated by Norway in 2008 as part of the East Coast Re-introduction Project. Glenogil Estate is owned by multi-millionaire businessman John Dodd, according to The Scotsman. Grouse management at Glenogil is undertaken in association with Mark Osborne, according to The Guardian: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/sep/22/wildlife.conservation

Bird 89 was found in a ‘decomposed’ state in August 2009. It is thought the eagle died much earlier than this, as its radio tracking signal stopped working in March 2009. According to some sources, the RSPB tracking team could not locate the dead bird for many months until they hired an expert tracker in August. http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/scotland/Sea-eagle-found-poisoned-.5995940.jp

The RSPB has accused Tayside Police of being incompetent, as the poisoning incident was not made public until January 2010, almost five months after the bird was found, and probably 10 months after the bird was actually killed. Further info: http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/birdsofprey/RSPB-claims-police–less.6012566.jp

No arrests have been made.

According to The Scotsman, previous incidents of suspected wildlife crime on or close to Glenogil Estate include:

May 2006: Suspected rabbit poisoned bait found – tests by Science and Advice for Scottish Agriculture lab confirmed it had been laced with outlawed pesticide carbofuran.

June 2006: Bait found laced with carbofuran, also found on equipment and vehicles. Estate owner John Dodd subsequently had £107,000 withdrawn from his single farm payment subsidy by the Scottish Government. He is appealing against this. Further information available here:  http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/sep/22/wildlife.conservation

November 2007: Tayside Police informed a white-tailed eagle had been shot by a Glenogil estate employee. No carcase was found, but the bird, fitted with a radio transmitter, is still missing.

May 2008: A white-tailed sea eagle known as ‘White G’ was found dead by a neighbouring landowner. It had been poisoned with carbofuran and other pesticides.

Three days later, Tayside Police and RSPB staff found the carcass of a buzzard lying next to the Glenogil Estate boundary fence. It had been poisoned. Carcass of a hare was found to have been laced with same chemicals that killed eagle.

October 2008: A meat bait is found on a fence post within Glenogil Estate, laced with an illegal chemical mix.

March 2009: Two dead buzzards found on the estate. Both birds had been poisoned.

August 2009: White-tailed sea eagle ‘Bird 89’ found poisoned on Glenogil Estate.

Poisoned bait found on Raeshaw Estate, nr Peebles

Red kites, like buzzards, are easy targets for poisoners as their diet includes lots of carrion.

According to an article in The Guardian, poisoned bait was found on the Raeshaw Estate in the Moorfoot hills, near Peebles, in June 2009, during a police raid. The raid followed the discovery of a poisoned red kite on neighbouring land. Several injured dogs were found during the raid and were removed by the SSPCA, who suspected they had been used for badger baiting. Further information can be found here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/jun/15/police-raid-red-kite

In 2004, the bodies of nine raptors (5 barn owls, 2 buzzards, 1 kestrel & 1 tawny owl) were found dead on Raeshaw Estate (see here). Nobody was ever prosecuted.

Golden eagle (‘Alma’) found poisoned on Millden Estate, Angus

Here is 2-year old Alma, dead on a grouse moor after being poisoned. Her satellite tag is visible on her back. No arrests have been made for this wildlife crime.

A two-year old golden eagle named ‘Alma’ was found poisoned on the Millden Estate, nr Brechin, Angus, in July 2009. Alma was wearing a satellite tag fitted by Roy Dennis as part of a study to monitor golden eagle movements in Scotland.

According to The Guardian, the Millden Estate is managed by Nick Baikie, a grouse moor manager who is reported to have been previously employed by Mark Osborne, an Oxfordshire-based chartered surveyor. Grouse moors run by Osborne in Scotland and England have previously been raided by police investigating alleged wildlife crime offences. Milden is one of several sporting estates in Glen Esk. It is thought to be owned by multi-millionaire investment banker Richard Hanson, who bought it in 2004: http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-21868070_ITM

Police searched the Millden Estate, including the grouse moor and the gamekeepers’ cottages. No arrests have been made.

Further details can be found in an article written in the Guardian newspaper: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/jul/30/conservation-scotland

buzzard found poisoned on Gledfield Estate, nr Ardgay, Sutherland

A buzzard was found posioned on the Gledfield Estate nr Ardgay in Sutherland on 24 July 2009. This is the third buzzard to be found poisoned on this shooting estate in the last 12 months.

The full story can be found on the BBC news website: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/highlands_and_islands/8166855.stm