Hunting with dogs - Hunting Act 2004

Fine for gamekeeper who shot buzzards caught in trap

A Gamekeeper shot two buzzards which had become caught in a trap designed to control crow numbers, Elgin Sheriff Court heard yesterday.

It was claimed that David Scott, 40, killed the protected birds of prey rather than risk injury trying to release them.

His solicitor, William Park, said Scott now realised he had not chosen the right course of action in shooting them.

Fiscal depute Geoff Main told the court that witnesses walking on the Cabrach estate, near Dufftown, had seen a trap containing two crows and two buzzards and had watched as Scott drove up in a Land Rover before shooting the buzzards and disposing of them in rabbit holes.

Mr Park said Scott was an under-keeper on the estate which had a serious problem with carrion crows and hooded crows killing the chicks of ground-nesting birds, including grouse.

The estate had given its keepers permission to trap crows and it had seven traps which were designed to lure them with a live decoy.

On April 25 Scott, of the Kennels, Cabrach Lodge, had checked one of the traps and found two buzzards which had found their way in, attracted by rabbit bait put down for crows.

Mr Park said Scott, who admitted two charges of breaking wildlife and countryside legislation by intentionally killing the buzzards, was in a situation where he had to make a choice of what to do.

He said one option would have been to open the trap and release the birds, but that would also have meant releasing the crows.

Alternatively, he could have gone into the trap – which measured 6ft by 6ft by 5ft – to manually remove the buzzards, although Mr Park claimed that would have put him at some risk of “significant harm”.

“In the circumstances, he elected to shoot the birds,” said Mr Park. “He realises the decision he took was a serious error of judgment on his part and one he must accept responsibility for. He realises that such offences can provoke strong feelings, but there was no cruel intent or malice on his part.”

Sheriff Robert Brodie said he found it difficult to understand Scott’s decision to shoot two protected birds. He noted that Scott was a first offender and fined him £200.

Further Information

Potentially the fine could have been ten times this level. The fact that an additional eleven Buzzards were found buried in rabbit holes near the Crow Trap was not even mentioned in the court. Unfortunately this low level of fine totally undermines the good work carried out by the WCO and the Fiscal in this case. All the more irritating when the Estate involved has been the subject of several persecution investigations in the past.

Source: Press and Journal