Naturalist Chris Packham has branded Norwich magistrates a “disgrace” over the sentence handed to a part-time gamekeeper over five dead goshawks he claimed to have found in a car park.
The TV presenter, an outspoken critic of hunting and field sports, blasted the 12 week suspended sentence handed to Francis Addison.
“When will magistrates wake up to wildlife crime,” said the Autumn and Springwatch presenter in a series of tweets.
He added: “A disgrace from Norwich magistrates.”
Mr Packham said if five John Constable paintings had been destroyed “the court would have thrown away the key”.
READ MORE: 72-year-old man in court after being in possession of dead birds of prey
Addison, 72, from South Park in Weeting, said he had discovered the dead birds dumped in a car park at King's Forest, between Bury St Edmunds and Thetford.
Norwich Magistrates Court heard he told investigators he had taken them home intending to call the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) but dumped them back there days later after he “panicked” that he might be prosecuted.
He pleaded guilty to 19 offences including eight charges contrary to the Wildlife and Countryside Act and 10 firearms-related offences.
As well as being sentenced to 12 weeks imprisonment, suspended for a year, Addison was ordered to pay £1,080 compensation, £105 costs and a £154 victim surcharge.
Norfolk had the highest number of confirmed raptor persecution incidents of any county in 2021
READ MORE: RSPB report says Norfolk worst for killing of birds of prey
It remains unknown who shot the goshawks despite extensive rewards on offer from RSPB.
Mark Thomas, RSPB head of investigations, said: “Goshawks are an exhilarating apex predator, so it was both shocking and appalling to see images of the five shot birds discarded in the Breckland Forest car park.
“In 2021, two-thirds of all confirmed UK raptor persecution incidents happened in connection with land used for gamebird shooting, faced with huge public displeasure there is increasingly no place to hide for those who commit these crimes“.
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