Birds of Prey poisoned on Welsh Estate (1 Viewer)

[WHIMBREL]

Wales Online have just released a news item about the worst case of Bird of Prey poisoning ever recorded from Wales and the second worst recorded in the UK for over 40 years.

Eight Common Buzzard five Red Kite and also two Raven were discovered along with several bait poisoned Pheasants on the Glanusk Estate, Near Crickhowell, Powys in 2013!!! For some reason the case has only now been made public, the owners of the estate are the Legge-Bourke family.

The RSPB and Dyfed Powys police worked together with other agencies and there were two arrests made, however, the Crown Prosecution Service could not find enough evidence to support a prosecution.

Many might remember that Princes William and Harry's Nanny was a Legge-Bourke and the title of Lord Lieutenant of Powys is current within the family.

In a starement posted on Twitter, the Glanusk Estate said the incident was 'nothing to do with the estate management team or owners of the estate' and that they 'followed and complied with and aided the investigation at all stages'.

Is it not unusual that a crime inquiry of this magnitude should remain out of the public domain for all this time?

Further information can be found under NEWS on the Wales Online website, it makes for sad and disturbing reading:C

 

[Andrew Rowlands]

Thanks, I'd missed that.

Link and an earlier one here.

 

[John Cantelo]

I have no reason to disbelieve the statement by Glanusk Estate that they had nothing whatsoever to do with this crime but even so there remain some serious questions to be asked and, hopefully, answered which their statement signally avoids. Although "not within the Glanusk Park walls" the offence seems to have taken place on their land (“on a forested area of the outer estate grounds"). Who was responsible for this area and the running of the shoot there? Was it sublet and if so to whom? What actions have the estate taken to ensure there's no repetition? If under their direct control, was anyone sacked or disciplined following the offence? If sublet has the contract been cancelled? Above all, the question whether normal police procedures were followed must be raised and if not why not? Similarly, we need to know how and why it has taken so long for this episode to reach the public domain and why it needed a lot of prodding for it to happen.

 

[WHIMBREL]

Andrew - thank you for the direct link to the Wales Online article, I wanted to get this article onto the forum asap and time was rather limited last night!

John - my sincere apologies for appearing to 'hi-jack' your earlier post from March 2016, I was totally unaware of it. Your comments are very much in line with my own on the matter and should be read by anyone interested in this serious crime. The Wales Online article brings this inquiry right slap-bang into the place it belongs - the public domain, even if it appears to be 3 years late!

The estate owners are wholly responsible for the running of Glanusk and the fact that this inquiry has not been made public until now is absolutely shameful, it creates far more questions now regarding some type of 'cover-up' than any kind of bad publicity for the Glanusk Estate owners/management might have had regarding the original crime in 2013.

Everyone I've spoken to today that have read the article have said 'they smell a rat' and some have provided views that I cannot print on this highly regarded forum! Unfortunately we are not privy to all the facts or evidence surrounding this appalling crime and are therefore sadly disadvantaged.

I doubt that this is the end of this particular bad business and forums such as this one will continue to highlight such appalling and cruel practices.

Further comments and contributions on this case are more than welcome and might go some way towards reminding the owners and managers of estates such as Glanusk about their responsibilities and what the Great British public expect - (and demand!) - of them. The costs incurred for all and sundry in the investigations and inquiry were costs incurred by all of us...and many innocent wonderful creatures died horrific agonising deaths...and for what?

 

[John Cantelo]

No apologies needed whatsoever. I'm pleased that we are in agreement on the matter.