A gamekeeper has been fined after covertly filmed footage showed a protected buzzard being brutally killed inside a cage trap on a pheasant shoot in North Yorkshire.
Thomas Munday pleaded guilty at Scarborough Magistrates’ Court today to killing the buzzard, which is protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.
He was fined £1,215.
The incident took place on 30 March 2024 in woodland near Hovingham, where a secret RSPB camera captured the bird entering a crow cage trap.
Footage shows that several hours later a masked individual arrived at the trap in an all-terrain vehicle and repeatedly struck the buzzard with a stick while it was still alive.
The bird was then removed from the trap and beaten again before being thrown into the vehicle.
The RSPB shared the footage with North Yorkshire Police, who later identified the individual as Munday, who was employed as a gamekeeper.
A police-led search of the land, supported by the National Wildlife Crime Unit, led to the seizure of several items including the stick used in the killing.
Forensic testing found traces of buzzard DNA on the stick, leading to Munday being charged.
Crow cage traps can be legally used under government licences to control certain corvid species, such as carrion crows and magpies. However, licence conditions require that any non-target species, including birds of prey, must be released immediately and unharmed if found in a trap.
The RSPB said the case highlights a wider and persistent problem of bird of prey persecution linked to land managed for gamebird shooting.
The charity says that between 2015 and 2024 there were 30 confirmed incidents involving birds of prey being caught or killed in unlawful crow cage traps across the UK, with the vast majority associated with shooting estates.
Howard Jones, senior investigations officer at the RSPB, said the footage was “extremely upsetting” and described the killing as showing “a complete disregard for the law”.
He added that without stronger regulation of gamebird shooting, similar crimes are likely to continue.
RSPB Chief Operating Officer James Robinson welcomed the conviction but said the sentence imposed was disappointing and offered little deterrent.
The organisation is calling on the UK Government to introduce a licensing system for all gamebird shooting, similar to measures introduced in Scotland in 2024.
Members of the public are urged to report suspected wildlife crime to the police on 101 or to the RSPB, either online or via its confidential Raptor Crime Hotline.
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