Poisoned buzzard found in Devon sees pheasant breeding farm and director fined £40k

A pheasant breeding farm in Devon has been fined more than £40,000 following the discovery of a poisoned buzzard.

Police found a stash of illegal chemicals when they raided Ashley Game Farm at Chulmleigh in 2021.

At Exeter Magistrates Court, company director Christopher Hodgson was also fined more than £1,500.

Both the company and Hodgson admitted a string of pesticide offences.

In October 2020, a member of the public discovered a dead Buzzard, a protected species under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, lying on top of a pheasant carcass by a pheasant release pen, near Hollocombe in Devon, and reported it to Devon and Cornwall Police.

The two birds and a second dead pheasant found nearby were sent to the Government’s Wildlife Incident Investigation Scheme for toxicology tests.

Meat found in the Buzzard’s beak and both pheasant carcasses tested positive for the insecticide Carbofuran.

Devon and Cornwall police, supported by the National Wildlife Crime Unit, Natural England and the RSPB, searched Ashley Game Farm.

They found significant amounts of prohibited and unauthorised pesticides and veterinary medicines.

A forensic search of two vehicles detected positive traces of the banned pesticide Carbofuran, the same banned pesticide which had been found on the pheasant carcasses and which had caused the Buzzard’s death.

Carbofuran has been banned in the UK since 2001 because of its high toxicity and associated risks.

Mark Thomas, the RSPB’s Head of Investigations said: “Yet again the discovery of a dead bird of prey and poisoned bait leads to the detection of lethal banned poisons.

"As past cases have demonstrated these chemicals are extremely hazardous to our wildlife and environment, but also pose a considerable risk to members of the public and domestic animals.”

Howard Jones, RSPB Senior Investigations Officer said: “The fact that Carbofuran is still being found 20 years after it was banned shows the lack of reform, as the law stipulates, being shown by some within the gamebird industry.”

Jenny Mashford from Devon and Cornwall Police said: “This incident was brought to the police’s attention thanks to a member of the public who identified the poisoned raptor.

"It is a very positive outcome in our fight against wildlife crime, of which bird of prey crime is a national wildlife crime priority."