Gamekeeper admits beating buzzard to death

A gamekeeper who beat a wild bird to death with a stick on a pheasant shooting estate has been fined.

Thomas Munday was filmed killing the buzzard on land which is part of the Hovingham Estate, in North Yorkshire, in March 2024.

The footage, filmed secretly by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), showed the bird entering a crow trap cage and four hours later being struck repeatedly with a stick by Munday.

After pleading guilty at Scarborough Magistrates' Court to intentionally killing a wild bird, Munday, 35, from Gillamoor, was ordered to pay a fine of £1,215.

In the footage, the defendant was filmed picking the protected bird up by its wing once it was dead and throwing it into an all-terrain vehicle.

The RSPB shared the video with North Yorkshire Police, who later identified the individual in the footage as Munday, who was employed as a gamekeeper on the estate at the time.

Police later seized a number of items from the land, including the stick used to kill the buzzard, which had its DNA on.

Munday was subsequently charged with the illegal killing of the buzzard, an offence under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.

The court heard how when interviewed by police, Munday described his actions as the "biggest mistake of his life" and that he had lost everything, including his house and job, as a result.

His lawyer told the court the estate for which he worked had nothing to do with Munday's actions, as he was employed by a separate management company.

Magistrate Jonathan Plotnick said, having taken Munday's guilty plea into consideration and that it was his first offence, he would fine him a total of £1,215.

Howard Jones, RSPB senior investigations officer, said: "The casual and brutal killing of the buzzard is extremely upsetting to watch and it's clear that Munday has a complete disregard for the law, and the legislation that protects these birds.

"Frustratingly, this incident isn't a one off but is just the latest example of the cruel and disturbing lengths some individuals will go to in order to illegally kill birds of prey.

"These crimes and the wider issue of bird of prey persecution is significantly linked to the gamebird shooting industry. Without long overdue regulation of gamebird shooting we expect to see these crimes continue."

A Defra spokesperson added: "Birds of prey are a precious feature of our national landscapes and anyone found guilty of illegally killing these vulnerable species should face the full force of the law.

"We are funding the National Wildlife Crime Unit and working with policy and conservation groups to stamp out bird of prey crime."

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