CONVICTED (2013) | Jonathan David Bowes, born December 1971, of Vine House, 1 Main Street, Knipton, Grantham NG32 1RW – hacked off nine ducks’ wings with a pair of old scissors
Bowes, who operates a logging business named J & H Logs, pleaded guilty to eight wildlife offences after an investigation into his shooting business at his family’s farm at Holwell, near Melton.
Bowes charged customers to shoot ducks on the lake that had had their wings clipped. Surgically clipping birds’ wings within the first 10 days of their life is legal but Bowes carried out the procedure on older birds without anaesthetic and admitted two charges of causing unnecessary suffering to animals, as well as two charges of carrying out an illegal procedure.
He also admitted illegally selling 12 wild birds at Melton market and possessing spring traps to illegally catch wild birds, which also occasionally killed his ducks.
Sentencing: fined £1,500, ordered to pay £5,000 costs and was banned from being involved in the keeping of any birds for five years (expired 2018).
Update February 2016
At Hinckley Magistrates’ Court on 6 February 2016, Bowes attempted to get the ban on keeping birds lifted, explaining that his wife, Emily-Anne Bowes, keeps pigeons, chickens and ducks at their home and their four-year-old daughter also enjoys looking after the animals.
Bowes told magistrates he was being denied the chance to help his daughter with the birds. He said: “I want the ban lifted so I can help her feed the birds and help her if she has chickens to hatch out – and help my wife with maintaining the electric fence and things like that.”
His wife also gave evidence at the hearing to say there were jobs she found difficult, such as carrying around 25kg feed bags, and jobs she was unable to do, such as driving in new fence posts.
Kevin McCole, representing the RSPCA, opposed the lifting of the ban because the original offence has been so serious.
He said: “There’s simply no excuse for causing suffering in the way he did.
“The RSPCA feels that the sentence was commensurate with the seriousness of the offence.”
The magistrates agreed the original five-year ban had been appropriate and refused the application.
Source: Leicester Mercury (article removed).