A Pembrokeshire man who illegally caught and kept wild birds has been banned and handed a suspended prison sentence after a prosecution by the RSPCA.
Colwyn Probert was found keeping goldfinches and other wild birds at a property in Tenby. When the birds were examined they demonstrated the typical behaviour of non-captive birds, such as flying against the bars of their cages. Many of the finches had distinctive dark coloured legs which are characteristic of birds caught from the wild. Trapping cages and rings were also found at the location.
Probert, of Kilgetty, Pembrokeshire, pleaded guilty to three offences under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and one offence under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 and appeared for sentencing at Llanelli Magistrates’ Court on July 2.
As well as being banned from keeping birds for 15 years, the defendant received an eight-week prison sentence which was suspended for two years. As part of the order he will have to complete 20 Rehabilitation Activity Requirement (RAR) days and abide by a six-month curfew.
The RSPCA investigated after a Dyfed Powys Police rural crime officer reported concerns that wild birds were being caught in the rear garden of the Pembrokeshire property. RSPCA Animal Rescue Officer (ARO) Ellie West attended the scene with the police officer on October 17 last year, when they were given permission to view an aviary which contained over a dozen goldfinches and a mule-type bird. The officer said in a statement that the birds appeared restless and were flitting from perch to perch. Another 14 birds were discovered confined to small cages in a roofed room to the side of the house.
Three cage traps were found, which had been deactivated by the police officer when he visited the evening before, as well as a zip bag containing metal rings and ring cutters. One of the cages was found previously placed near to a bird feeder in the garden.
The birds were seized and taken to a boarding establishment to be cared for before they were transported to RSPCA Mallydams Wood Wildlife Centre in East Sussex from where they were later released back into the wild.
An ornithological expert who examined them said several had suffered damage to their beaks from flying against the bars of the cage. One bird did not have a tail.
“I believe all the goldfinches were caught from the wild and while I did not see the original cages, the dirtiness of many of their feathers would point to the cages not having enough room that they could fly up onto perches above the faeces at the bottom,” said the expert.
The sentencing district judge said the birds may have been caught to be sold on by the defendant, whom he told: “You put wild birds who should be free and wild in unsuitable cages, which must have been extremely stressful for them.”
Probert also has to pay costs of £400 and a victim surcharge of £154 and all his traps, cages and rings will be confiscated.
Speaking after the sentencing, RSPCA Inspector Keith Hogben said: “These poor birds were treated like commodities. They were caged and unable to exhibit normal behaviour, while they were also living in a filthy environment with no clean water provided for them.
“All wild birds are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and it is illegal to deliberately kill, injure or take one, except under licence.”
