A head keeper employed on one of Scotland’s most illustrious grouse moors, Tillypronie in Royal Deeside, has been banned from controlling birds for three years over an alleged wildlife crime incident. The Scottish government has some of the strongest legal sanctions against wildlife crime in Europe and is now considering introducing licences for shooting estates, to increase its powers over grouse moors with poor conservation practices. SNH said: “Raptor persecution doesn’t just damage Scotland’s nature, it also affects tourism which, in turn, impacts on the economy. In 2012, similar footage led to the imprisonment of a man who was convicted of killing a goshawk in an illegal trap. Andrew Gilruth, a spokesman for the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust, said it “does not condone wildlife crime in any form and strongly supports appropriate action being taken to reduce and prevent it.

Source: The Guardian April 02, 2018 15:56 UTC