A gamekeeper has been fined after a spy cam caught him beating a wild bird of prey to death.
Thomas Munday, 35, was recorded battering the buzzard which is a protected species.
The poor bird was caught in a legal trap at a game shooting estate.
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In the footage he was fully masked when he pulled up in a vehicle before getting out, entering the trap and beating the bird to death.
He repeatedly struck the buzzard with a stick.
The injured and incapacitated bird was then removed from the trap – clearly still alive – and beaten several more times with the same stick.
Munday then picked up the bird by its wing and threw it into a vehicle before driving away from the site near Malton, near York.
The RSPB shared the footage with North Yorkshire Police.
A search of the land resulted in a number of items being seized including the stick used to kill the buzzard.
Forensic testing found traces of buzzard DNA on it, as reported by Need To Know.
(Jam Press/RSPB)
Munday appeared at Scarborough Magistrate’s court on Monday (12 Jan) charged with killing the bird
He admitted to beating a buzzard to death inside a trap at a North Yorkshire game shooting estate.
He pleaded guilty to intentionally killing a wild bird and was fined £1,215.
He has now lost his job as a gamekeeper.
The RSPB regularly hides covert cameras near such traps to ensure protected birds are not destroyed.
After sentencing, Insp Mark Earnshaw, of North Yorkshire Police’s Rural Taskforce, said: “In the UK, all wild birds are protected by law.
“If you come across a dead bird or suspicious object, this could be a wildlife crime scene. Every piece of information may be crucial in helping us to prosecute an offender.
“As this case shows, we will take robust and effective action to identify perpetrators and put them before the courts.”
Howard Jones, RSPB Senior Investigations Officer, added: “The casual and brutal killing of the Buzzard is extremely upsetting to watch and it’s clear that Munday has a complete disregard for the law, and the legislation that protects these birds.
“Frustratingly, this incident isn’t a one-off but is just the latest example of the cruel and disturbing lengths some individuals will go to in order to illegally kill birds of prey.
“These crimes and the wider issue of bird of prey persecution is significantly linked to the gamebird shooting industry.
“Without long overdue regulation of gamebird shooting we expect to see these crimes continue.”
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