A man who killed wild birds in the Stewartry has narrowly avoided jail.
Barry Nicolle left poisoned bait around his land at Wickerty Snook near Springholm – some of it just yards from the village primary school.
The use of banned poisons such as bendiocarb and aldicarb led to the deaths of five red kites as well as 10 rooks, which were found in the school playground.
Nicolle, who runs an exotic wildlife breeding farm, was sentenced to 216 hours of community service at Dumfries Sheriff Court on Friday after he pleaded guilty to 14 charges.
The 67-year-old was told he had escaped a prison sentence due to his lack of previous convictions, his age and sentencing guidelines.
Fiona Caldwell, who leads on wildlife and environmental crime for the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, said: “The laying of bait laced with poisons was shockingly irresponsible and Nicolle has shown an utter disregard for the wildlife laws which serve to protect these species.
“I would like to thank Police Scotland, RSPB Scotland, the Scottish SPCA, the SRUC Veterinary Investigation Centre and SASA for their part in investigating and gathering evidence of these repugnant offences.
“The law protects wild birds and those who seek to poison them or possess stocks of illegal poison can be assured that the procurator fiscal will continue to prosecute such cases and ensure that offenders face the consequences of their actions.”
Suspicion was aroused in the spring of 2019 after reports of several dead red kites in and around Springholm and Kirkpatrick Durham.
Tests revealed they died after eating meat laced with poison.
The months that followed led to more poisoned birds being found – including 10 rooks in the playground of Springholm Primary.
One dead kite was found near to a mandarin duck laced with the same banned pesticide that had killed the kite.
As mandarin ducks are not native species, Police Scotland’s attention turned to Nicolle due to his large collection of exotic ducks and geese.
And when a search warrant was executed in February 2020, police found aldicarb and bendiocarb – both illegal poisons which had been found in the dead birds.
It emerged Nicolle had laced the mandarin duck and a mallard with the banned pesticides – and placed poisoned bread on his land less than 200 yards from Springholm Primary – in an attempt to attract and kill scavengers and protect his birds.
As well as admitting to killing the birds, Nicolle also admitted possessing highly toxic pesticides, using a crow trap illegally and an air weapon licensing offence.
RSPB Scotland’s head of investigations, Ian Thomson, said: “The placing of poison baits out in the open is illegal, dangerous and indiscriminate.
“It is exceedingly fortunate that Mr Nicolle’s repeated actions did not result in serious injury to a young child.
“The investigation of this case was an excellent example of partnership working.
“We would particularly like to thank Police Scotland, notably wildlife crime officer PC John Cowan, for their dogged determination to identify the perpetrator of these offences and to see them face justice, and to Procurators Fiscal from the Crown Office’s wildlife and environmental crime unit, for their diligent work in securing a conviction in such a complex case.”
Senior investigating police officer, DI Dean Little, added: “Wildlife crime can be complex to investigate and difficult to prove in court.
“In this case local officers on the ground were able to promptly gather evidence and work with a number of partners who utilised specialist forensic methods to build a case against Nicolle.
“Nicolle’s reckless use of illegal poison was not only selfish and damaging to the birds it killed, but also posed a risk to the environment and members of the public who came across them.
“Crimes against nature are not unpunishable and we welcome the sentencing of Nicolle which shows our continued commitment to investigate wildlife crime and bring perpetrators to court.”
