Gamekeeper had enough poison to kill 8,000 birds

Published on Friday 6 January 2012 00:00

A GAMEKEEPER convicted of poisoning wild birds possessed enough toxic chemicals to kill an estimated 8,000 fowl, a Scottish court has heard.

David Whitefield had pled guilty to intentionally misusing highly poisonous chemicals to kill three common buzzards between April and November 2009 in order to protect game birds at Culter Allers Farm, near Biggar, South Lanarkshire.

Whitefield, 45, formerly of Keepers Cottage, Coulter, was sentenced to 100 hours’ community service at Lanark Sheriff Court yesterday.

At an earlier hearing, the court was told he had laced a rabbit carcase with the toxic chemical alphachloralose and left it uncovered in an open area of countryside.

RSPB Scotland was alerted to the problem in April 2009. On 11 November that year the Scottish SPCA led a search of the estate, involving police, the National Wildlife Crime Unit, the Scottish Government and RSPB.

They discovered a large quantity of high-concentration alphachloralose poison, enough to kill 8,000 birds, kept in a coffee jar and a bucket in buildings used by Whitefield.

This was the second time Whitefield has been prosecuted for wildlife offences, having been fined £300 in 2008 for trapping a buzzard. He has lost his job and home as a result of the latest conviction.