Suspended sentence confirmed for hunter who shot domesticated bird

A hunter who could not help himself when he saw a captive-bred spoonbill flying just outside a bird park lost his appeal to overturn the suspended jail term he had received, although he was spared a €500 fine.

The case dates back to 24 November, 2009.

The hunter, Raymond Agius, was outside the Salina bird park when he shot at the captive-bred African spoonbill, a sister species to the Eurasian spoonbill occasionally seen – and at times illegally shot – in Malta. The bird had been born in the park itself, and was properly registered and ringed.

The park’s owner Kevin Mallia testified that they were training the spoonbill – which was often displayed to schoolchildren visiting the park – and that while it was flying just outside the park, the accused fired a number of shots at it and missed.

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CUMBRIA GAMEKEEPER ADMITS ILLEGALLY KILLING BIRDS OF PREY

A GAMEKEEPER in Cumbria has admitted illegally slaughtering birds of prey.

Colin Burne, of Winters Park, Penrith, has yesterday pleaded guilty to the intentional killing of buzzards on land managed by a private shooting syndicate in Whinfell Forest, near Penrith.

The 64-year old attended Carlisle Magistrates Court and admitted three charges relating to the killing of two buzzards on February 11, killing five buzzards before that incident possessing a wooden stick as an item capable of being used to kill the birds.

He was given a 70-day jail sentence suspended for 12 months and was told if it was not for ill health the judge would have considered sending him to prison.

On February 11, a cage trap containing live buzzards was found by members of the public on land managed by the shoot.

Cage traps can lawfully be used to control certain crows species, but any non-target species which become accidentally caught, such as buzzards and other birds of prey, must be released unharmed.

The next day the RSPB investigations officers set up a covert camera near the trap site. When the footage was retrieved it showed Burne entering the trap and beating two buzzards to death with a wooden stick.

Bob Elliot, head of RSPB investigations, said: “After we retrieved the footage and played it back, we were surprised at the openness with which Burne had killed the birds. Buzzards were given full legal protection in 1954 – six years after Burne was born – but he calmly dispatched the birds as though it was a routine operation, rather than an illegal act killing a protected species.”

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PC is spared jail over rare bird's eggs haul: Officer's illegal collection was 'crime against nature'

Michael Upson, 52, had 649 eggs hidden in margarine cartons inside a battered suitcase in the loft of his home in Sotherton, Suffolk.

Evidence indicated he may have taken more than 900 eggs in total but around a third have never been found.

A policeman  who committed a ‘crime against nature’ by stealing hundreds of eggs from rare birds’ nests narrowly avoided jail yesterday.

Michael Upson, 52, had 649 eggs hidden in margarine cartons inside a battered suitcase in his loft.

Police officers who raided his home also found an index system that suggested the eggs had been collected before 1954, when it was not illegal to take them from nests.

However, these were revealed to be fake when Upson’s own catalogue cards and diaries were discovered concealed in plastic boxes inside his attic water tank.

These proved he had mounted illegal raids around the country between 1991 and 2001 when he was a constable and acting sergeant for Suffolk Police.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2223344/PC-spared-jail-rare-birds-eggs-haul-Officers-illegal-collection-crime-nature.html#ixzz2APuKMt1X