Farm manager fined £1200 for possessing banned pesticide

Saturday 8 September 2012

A FARM manager has been fined £1200 after being convicted of possessing an illegal poison.

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Tom McKellar pled guilty to possession of banned pesticide carbofuran at Oban Sheriff Court.

An investigation was launched after a golden eagle was found lying face down on a remote hillside near Bridge of Orchy, northern Argyllshire, by a group of hillwalkers in 2009.

A post-mortem examination by Scottish Government laboratories confirmed the bird had been poisoned with the pesticide, which has been banned since 2001. During searches of land and buildings on the Auch Estate, officers found quantities of carbofuran in three containers and traces of it in a syringe. The carcass of a sheep laced with carbofuran was later found on a hillside in the area where the eagle had been found dead. Ian Thomson, RSPB Scotland's head of investigations, said "Whilst we welcome the conviction, yet again we are dismayed that the final result of a high-profile inquiry poses little in the way of a deterrent to those who continue to flagrantly disregard our wildlife protection laws. "We call upon the Scottish Government to urgently review the penalties imposed by the courts on those who break our wildlife laws."Carbofuran poisoning has been identified as the cause of death in more than 240 incidents submitted to the Wildlife Incident Investigation Scheme Scotland since 1988.At least 95% of these incidents were attributed to the illegal abuse of a pesticide to poison non-target animals. The most frequent casualties were birds of prey, with cats and dogs also falling victim of the pesticide. Craig Harris, head of the Wildlife and Environmental Crime Unit at the Crown Office, said the conviction should serve as a warning to others who possess Carbofuran.He said: "We remain committed to ensuring carbofuran is removed from the countryside."

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Farm manager fined £1200 for possessing banned pesticide

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