AN animal protection charity has called for a change in the law and condemned the Crown Office for dropping a case against a gamekeeper charged with snaring offences on a country estate.
William Curr, a gamekeeper at the 23,000-acre Glenogil Estate in Angus, was accused of offences dating back to 2014 but it has emerged the case will not proceed.
The charges against Curr were brought under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.
He had appeared at Forfar Sheriff Court and denied neglecting snares that harmed wild animals on the estate, which is between Forfar and Brechin. His trial was due to start on May 9.
Snaring is a lawful means of controlling foxes and rabbits to prevent damage to crops, livestock, wildlife and trees.
Animal welfare charity OneKind said it obtained footage of two trapped foxes during a visit to the estate in September 2014.
According to OneKind, one fox was already dead but the other was still alive and had to be euthanised at the scene due to the extent of its injuries. OneKind said it was “appalled” at the decision to drop the case, “given the eye-witness evidence, the horrific video footage and the detailed follow-up investigation carried out by the Scottish SPCA”.
Harry Huyton, director of OneKind, added: “Earlier this year we welcomed the Scottish Government’s announcement that it was getting tough on wildlife crime, but there is little point in increasing penalties if we can’t get cases into court in the first place.
“There were six witnesses to this incident. Photographs and video footage were taken and the SSPCA conducted a thorough investigation which initially led to charges. We simply do not understand why this case was dropped before it even got to trial.
“We will be asking the Procurator Fiscal which parts of the evidence were deemed inadmissible and why. However, it’s already clear that these foxes suffered profoundly and that the law failed them. This case illustrates that the snaring laws in Scotland continue to result in unacceptable suffering and only a complete ban of these cruel traps will end this. ”
A Crown Office spokesman said: “We take allegations of animal cruelty extremely seriously and prosecute where there is sufficient evidence and it is in the public interest to do so. In this instance, the Procurator Fiscal received a report relating to a 21-year-old male and incidents said to have occurred between August 31 and September 26 2014 at Glenogil Estate.
“After careful consideration of the facts and circumstances of the case, including all admissible evidence, Crown Counsel decided that there should be no further proceedings taken.”
Glenogil Estate has previously been at the centre of controversy over poisoned birds.
According to Raptor Persecution Scotland (RPS), there have been several incidents at the estate since 2006 but not one prosecution.
In April 2013, a millionaire fund manager called John Dodd reportedly sold Glenogil Estate.
Five years earlier Dodd had his farming subsidy cut by £107,000 by the then Scottish Executive because of suspicions that pesticides were used against birds of prey on his land. Bait laced with carbofuran was found on equipment and some estate vehicles in 2006.
In 2008, a white-tailed eagle was found poisoned, with a follow-up search discovering a poisoned buzzard, a poisoned hare bait, and 32 meat baits placed along the boundary fence of Glenogil Estate.
In 2009, another two dead buzzards and a white-tailed eagle were found on the estate. All three birds had been poisoned, according to the RSPB.
David McKie of Levy and McRae Solicitors, who represent the estate, said: “It was perfectly reasonable for the Crown to re-assess this case in light of all of the available information placed before it. It is important to remember that accused persons are innocent until proven guilty in this country.
“Mr Curr maintains his innocence on the serious allegations he faced and was confident that he would have been acquitted had the case proceeded to trial."
The Scottish SPCA declined to comment.
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