CONVICTED (2023) | Moy Estate gamekeeper Rory Parker, born c. 1998, of Drumbain Cottage, Moy, Tomatin, Inverness IV13 7XW – shot and killed a protected bird of prey in a pre-meditated attack.
Rory Parker was fined £1,575 after he admitted shooting a sparrowhawk on the notorious grouse-shooting Moy Estate, which is owned by Celia Mackintosh but leased out to an unnamed tenant.
In a video filmed by an RSPB Scotland investigations team, Parker was seen firing two shots into the air as the bird, a protected species, flew overhead at Tom Na Slaite, Ruthven, on 16 September 2021.
The video shows a plastic “decoy” owl on a fence post, which the RSPB said was most likely being used to attract birds of prey.
Parker, who is stood near the owl, can be seen to raise a gun and fire two shots, before scrambling over moorland to collect a bird which is clearly still alive but injured enough that it cannot escape.
Raptor Persecution provide commentary on what happened next. They wrote: “{Parker is] calm and proficient as he stamps his foot/knee on the bird to crush it, before casually picking it up and retuning to his hiding place in the bush. It appears to be quite routine and he does not look at all disturbed at having just committed a serious wildlife crime.”
The land where the sparrowhawk was shot is used for pheasant and partridge shoots and is managed by a tenant of the Moy Estate.
The court heard police recovered two shotgun cartridges and feathers from the site of the sparrowhawk shooting.
In court, Parker admitted the offence under the Wildlife and Countryside Act.
Mark Moir KC, defending, told Sheriff Sara Matheson that his client had been in his job since he left school.
Mr Moir said: “He is deeply shameful of what he has done. He has brought the estate into disrepute and has now resigned.
“His firearms certificate is likely to be revoked as a result of this conviction. He should have been shooting pigeons and crows that day. Feral pigeons are a problem on the estate.
“However, the sparrowhawk flew over and there was a rush of blood. He says it was a stupid thing to do.”
Sheriff Matheson told Parker Scotland’s birds of prey were precious and deserved protection.
Following sentencing, RSPB Scotland said that parker was the 56th gamekeeper to be convicted of raptor persecution offences in Scotland since 1990.
Ian Thomson, head of investigations, said: “This conviction was the end result of exemplary partnership working between Police Scotland, RSPB Scotland, the Wildlife DNA Forensics team at Science and Advice for Scottish Agriculture and the Wildlife and Environmental Crime Unit of Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service.”
He said the persecution of birds of prey was continuing in Scotland “unabated”.
A spokesman for the Moy Estate said they had suspended Parker from his position after being made aware of the “unacceptable” incident. The spokesman further added that they are committed to maintaining the highest standards of game management.
Despite this assertion, the Moy Estate is currently under licence restrictions imposed by NatureScot in June 2022 after the police provided “robust evidence” that birds had been killed or taken illegally on the land.
All birds of prey are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and killing them is against the law, punishable by an unlimited fine and/or jail.
Shooting estates such as Moy may target them, however, for fear that they will predate and kill young grouse or eat eggs, reducing their numbers and making shooting less profitable.
