Clifford Roe, Tinraheen House, Ballacolla, Co. Laois and Ian Fairbrother, Shanahoe, Abbeyleix, Co. Laois were before Portlaoise District Court on March 20 to face charges of hunting protected wild birds, and for using artificial crow decoys and a crow caller to lure rooks into what was described by one of the defendants as ‘the kill zone’.
Roe pleaded guilty to three summonses relating to using an artificial decoy, a crow caller, and hunting protected wild birds, all of which are breaches of the Wildlife Acts. Fairbrother pleaded guilty to two summonses relating to the use of an artificial decoy and hunting protected wild birds.
The National Parks & Wildlife Service (NPWS) took the case. During the trial, video recordings taken at the scene by a member of the public showed both accused with an unidentified third man behind a camouflage hide with shotguns. A short distance from the hide were plastic rook decoys and dead, wounded, and maimed rooks. The videos also showed a crow caller worn around Roe’s neck at the time of the incident.
In evidence to the court, an NPWS official told Judge Alec Gabbett that all wild birds, including rooks, are protected under the EU Birds Directive. However, the State recognises that certain wild bird species can damage crops, adding that under Article 9 of the EU Birds Directive, each Member State can, by ministerial order, derogate from this directive to allow the control of certain wild bird species under certain circumstances. The derogation, he said, describes the method by which rooks can be controlled when they are causing significant damage to crops or livestock on the property where the damage is occurring.
However, the NPWS official told the judge that the video recordings provided clear evidence that the methods used by the two accused to hunt the rooks were illegal, describing the actions of the defendants as recreational shooting in a place where there was no evidence of any crop damage.
The court also heard that both accused refused to cooperate when NPWS officers asked them to explain their actions in the videos. Roe and Fairbrother also refused to divulge the name of the third person seen in the video recordings.
Judge Gabbett convicted Roe on all three Wildlife Act summonses that he pled guilty to, and imposed fines totalling €1,500. Fairbrother was convicted on the two summonses and the judge imposed a fine of €1,000. Both accused were given six months to pay. All other charges were withdrawn by the prosecution.