Man baited birds of prey with poisoned pheasants in shooting rights row

Telegraph

05-06-2025

A man baited birds of prey with pheasants coated in rat poison amid a feud with a neighbouring landowner over shooting rights.
A court heard Clive Burgoyne, 38, gutted four pheasant carcasses and filled them with rat poison in an attempt to damage the reputation of the Guynd estate near Arbroath, Angus.
At Forfar sheriff court in April 2025, Burgoyne pleaded guilty to a breach of wildlife legislation between January and February 2023.
The court heard he left four pheasant carcasses coated in rodenticide which would cause haemorrhaging in birds of prey.
On Thursday, at the same court, he was given a community order and 135 hours of unpaid work to be completed within 12 months, the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) said.
Prosecutors said he put birds of prey 'at risk of injury or death' using a known rat poison which can kill them in a single feed.
Witnesses saw Burgoyne in the front passenger seat of a car travelling towards, and later away, from the Guynd estate on the morning of Feb 3, 2023.
A short time later, an estate worker discovered a dead pheasant on a footpath, COPFS said.
The breast had been removed and the bird was covered in a quantity of grain and seed which was then coated in a bright blue liquid.
A further search of the area revealed three more dead pheasants nearby which had been similarly cut open and treated, according to COPFS.
Blue grain was a known rodenticide
Analysis carried out by officials at the Science and Advice for Scottish Agriculture confirmed the blue grain was a known rodenticide.
They believed the pheasant carcasses had been prepared and set out with the intention of causing harm to birds.
A sample of Burgoyne's DNA was found on all four of the dead birds.
Iain Batho, who leads on wildlife and environmental crime at COPFS, said: 'It is highly important to preserve Scotland's natural heritage, including the wildlife that forms part of it.
'As such, wild birds are given strict protection by our law.
'Clive Burgoyne's reckless actions put various wildlife, particularly birds of prey, at risk of injury and death.
'COPFS takes offences under the Wildlife and Countryside Act seriously and will prosecute individuals where there is sufficient evidence of a crime.
'This case is a testament to the collaborative working between COPFS, Police Scotland, and Science and Advice for Scottish Agriculture, who in this case were able to provide vital forensic evidence,' he added.