Wild Justice Raptor Forensics Fund helps secure gamekeeper conviction

We’re delighted to learn that our Raptor Forensics Fund, established last year to help support police investigations into alleged raptor persecution crime, has played a part in the conviction of a criminal gamekeeper in Cheshire.

Our fund was utilised by Cheshire Police this year to undertake a post mortem of a sparrowhawk that had been found dead inside an illegally-operated trap in February 2021. A veterinary pathologist confirmed the sparrowhawk had died of starvation and would have experienced considerable unnecessary suffering inside the trap.

At Manchester Magistrates’ court today (16 December 2021), gamekeeper Hilton Prest pleaded guilty to unlawfully using a trap on or before 10/2/21 contrary to Sec 5(1)(b) of the Wildlife and Countryside Act. He was fined £800 (plus £85 costs and £80 victim surcharge).

For more details of this case please see here.

Thank you to all those who contributed to our Raptor Forensics Fund and thanks also to the PAW Forensic Working Group (a sub-group of the Partnership for Action Against Wildlife Crime) who administer our fund and ensure that police officers can access it without delay to help progress their investigations into raptor persecution crimes.