One of the Queen’s gamekeepers has been fined £500 for setting a rat trap that snared a tawny owl by mistake.
Dean Wright, who works on the Sandringham Estate, near King’s Lynn, Norfolk, admitted committing the offence at Shernborne in December 2005.
The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds – whose patron is the Queen – said it was “disappointing” the offence had been committed on a royal estate.
Wright, 26, of Anmer, Norfolk, appeared at King’s Lynn Magistrates’ Court.
He had denied causing unnecessary suffering to the owl caught in the trap and the Crown Prosecution Service chose not to pursue that charge.
Unwise step
Ian West, head of investigations for the RSPB, said: “High standards are expected of people working as professional gamekeepers on estates.”
Prosecutors said Wright had lawfully set the trap for a rat, but committed an offence by not covering it to prevent birds getting in.
The owl had to be put down because of a leg injury it suffered.
Ian Mayers, for Wright, said the gamekeeper had apologised to the court and his employers.
But district judge, Philip Browning, said: “It is still not clear to me why you uncovered the trap. What you did was unwise.”
Source: BBC News
