Perthshire gamekeeper fined for beating protected bird of prey to death

In early 2024, RSPB Investigations staff deployed a covert camera to monitor the use of a crow cage trap on the Milton of Drimmie Estate near Bridge of Cally, Perthshire.  Footage recorded on 12 February 2024 showed a Goshawk, a specially protected bird of prey, enter the trap and fly around, unable to escape.  

Later that day, Russell Mason, a gamekeeper working on the estate, arrived at the trap in a vehicle. He then unlocked and entered the trap whilst carrying a large, long-handled net in one hand and a short stick in the other. Mr Mason then captured the Goshawk in the net, pinning it against the ground, and began beating it with the stick.  

After striking the bird six times, the film shows him prodding the bird’s body, then removing the now dead Goshawk from the net and placing it in a plastic bag. After picking up the net and stick, with the bird’s bagged remains held under his arm, he left the trap, locking it behind him, returned to the vehicle and left the scene.

The footage captured by our team was used as evidence in the case against Mr Mason, and on 17 March 2026 at Perth Sheriff Court, he pleaded guilty to the illegal killing of a Goshawk. Sentencing took place today (24 April 2026). Mr Mason was given a 200-hour Community Payback Order for killing the Goshawk and fined £890 for firearm offences.

The case marks the sixth successful conviction for Goshawk persecution in the UK since 2015. In all of these cases, the individuals convicted were associated with the gamebird shooting industry when the crime was committed. 

Goshawks are a rare and elusive species. In the late 19th Century, they became extinct in the UK because of persecution relating to gamebird shooting and widespread deforestation. Though their population has been recovering in recent decades, Goshawks are still relatively rare, with an estimated 700-1,200 breeding pairs in the UK. 

Despite this, they are regularly illegally killed, with 49 confirmed incidents recorded between 2015 and 2024 in the UK. Two thirds of these incidents occurred on land managed for gamebird shooting, where birds of prey are targeted to remove any perceived threat of predation to gamebirds stocks.  

This is despite the full legal protection of Goshawks across the UK. 

In the UK, crow cage traps can be operated legally to control corvid species (such as Carrion Crows, Magpies and Jackdaws) under the conditions of general licences. These are issued annually by the UK countries statutory nature conservation agencies.  

Permitted target species can be legally controlled for specific purposes, including the conservation of other wild birds, flora or fauna, the protection of crops/livestock, or public health. However, as multiple previous cases have revealed, on some gamebird shooting estates, crow cage traps are often illegally used to intentionally trap birds of prey that are subsequently killed. 

Functioning like a large lobster pot, birds enter these large live-capture traps by way of an opening in the roof, often shaped like a funnel. Once inside, it’s impossible for a bird to escape. Non-target species, including birds of prey, are regularly and routinely trapped in these types of cage traps. 

While under the general licence conditions, it’s not an offence to catch a non-target species, but it must be released unharmed within 24 hours, and at the time of discovery. However, many trap operators do not adhere to these conditions.  

Instead, they either kill trapped birds of prey or bag and remove them from site, potentially to be killed in another location. Both killing or taking a bird of prey is an offence under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.

The RSPB would like to thank Police Scotland, the Scottish SPCA, National Wildlife Crime Unit, the Wildlife Forensics team at Science and Advice for Scottish Agriculture, and the Wildlife and Environmental Crime Unit in the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service for their vital role in investigating and prosecuting this case. 

Members of the public are urged to report any suspected incidents of bird of prey persecution to the police by calling 101.  

Please also submit a report to the RSPB by visiting www.rspb.org.uk/report-crimes or by calling the RSPB’s confidential Raptor Crime Hotline on 0300 999 0101. Reports via the RSPB’s reporting form and RSPB Raptor Crime Hotline can be made anonymously.