On 5th January 2012, David Alexander Whitefield was sentenced to 100 hours of community service at Lanark Sheriff Court after being convicted of the unlawful poisoning of 4 buzzards with chloralose baits on a Lanarkshire Estate.
Following the recovery of poisoned birds on the Coulter Allers Estate, near Biggar, Lanarkshire, members of the UK National Wildlife Crime Unit, Scottish SPCA, Scottish Government Rural Payments & Inspections Directorate, supported by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, conducted a search of the estate in November 2009. During the search, a substantial quantity of the poison Alpha Chloralose was found in an unlocked shed.  With Mr Whitefield’s co-operation, four buzzard carcases in varying states of decomposition were then recovered from different locations on the estate.
Mr Whitefield, who consequently lost his job and tied cottage, offered a guilty plea to these offences on 1st December 2011 but sentencing was deferred for background reports.
Mr Whitefield worked as the only gamekeeper on the Coulter Allers Estate which he managed solely for private shooting. He has a previous conviction under the Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981 and Animal Health & Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006 for not correctly dismantling a crow cage trap which subsequently caught a buzzard.
Areas of Lanarkshire have been identified as poisoning hotspots over recent years on the PAW Scotland Hotspot Maps.
The illegal poisoning of wildlife has blighted this and other parts of the Scottish countryside for years and tarnishes the good reputation of many responsible land managers.
The indiscriminate nature of poisons being left in the open countryside raises serious safety concerns for any walkers, children, pets and wildlife that may come across them.
The head of the National Wildlife Crime Unit, said, “Offences of this nature blight our countryside, and demean the significant work of law abiding countryside managers. The Police take seriously crimes against the environment and this serves notice that we pursue anyone suspected of tarnishing the strongly guarded reputation Scotland has as a place of outstanding natural beauty.”
Anyone with any information in relation to Wildlife Crime should contact their Police Force or Crimestoppers in confidence and complete anonymity on 0800 555 111.
