Author: Hampshire Constabulary
Man Charged With Shooting A Protected Bird
5:49 pm Wednesday, 18th January, 2012, Isle of Wight
ShortURL: http://wig.ht/29fw
Read More- Law & Order, Newport, News, Police, Wildlife
This in from the Police, in their own words. Ed
A man is due to appear in court on Friday, January 20, 2012 to face a charge of intentionally injuring a wild bird, namely a common buzzard, on the Isle of Wight.
John Winn Roberts, aged 43, of Woodend Meadow, Ballymagorry, Strabane, Northern Ireland, was arrested by police on November 26, 2011 for the suspected offence at a quarry on St. George’s Down, Newport, Isle of Wight on the same day (November 26, 2011).
He was charged on January 4, 2012 following an investigation led by Isle of Wight-based Hampshire Constabulary Country Watch and wildlife crime officer PC Nick Massey.
Police are grateful for the support and assistance of the RSPCA’s Isle of Wight Inspector Mark Buggie, and the management of aggregates / construction material supply business ‘Bardon Vectis’, which runs the quarry where the alleged offence took place.
Mr Roberts remains on bail until Friday (January 20, 2011) when he is due to appear at the Isle of Wight Magistrates Court.
Image: Oeter G Trimming under CC BY 2.0
How sad that one of these magnificant birds has been lost by the alleged actions of man. I am never ceased to be amazed at their beauty and how graceful they are in flight.
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Well done to the Officers of the Isle of Wight based Hampshire Constabulary wild life crime officers I hope they are also as vigilant with regard to the activities of the Isle of Wight Hunt.
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Well done the police – I do wish that they would spend a little more time around the riders in scarlet and black.
I do not call them hunters – The hounds do the hunting and the riders chase the hounds.
Carry on chasing the rag, everyone remains
content; horses and hounds exercised; farriers and blacksmiths hard at it and peace has returned to gardens and forests.
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I wrote to Andrew Turner MP some time ago to ask him about his intentions if the hunt ban repeal comes up in the Commons and he told me that he would support it.
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Yes! Andrew, is a good man at heart, but he dare not support a hunting ban; he must keep in with the Tory orientated Countryside Alliance to retain his seat.
On a free vote there are enough MPs who would have the guts and humanity to retain the ban.
With all the cuts in welfare for the sick and lame; the escalating unemployment and the financial crisis. The threat of another war with Argentina, over a large sheep farm [Oil perhaps].
I do I feel that this government have enough to worry about, without worrying about something that is working, and the majority of decent civilized people want the ban to stay.
Let the hounds continue to chase the smelly rag; it is very appropriate, and well suited to the rest of the pack that follow.
We are all in it together:-)
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“The threat of another war with Argentina, over a large sheep farm or oil”.
This could also be a cynical ploy to make the Tories popular with the public and the right wing press like Thatcher did in the 80′s.
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Its amazing isn’t it? The police jump in on this one (quite rightly so) but seem to struggle to prosecute a person who was apprently drunk while in charge of a dog on a public beach.
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Thats a good point Salior Sam , i would like to shoot both those men in the arse with something painful, and put them in stocks so we can all have a say at them and throw rotton things at them i really think stocks would work again .
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There always were gawpers around the gallows….
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Agreed! With ‘Sam’ and ‘Lin Says’.
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Did this involve a shotgun?
Did he bring it over from Northern Ireland?
I hope that he will lose his licence -assuming he has one.
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I’m not sure this question is meant seriously. But in case it is -
Just about every farmer and almost every farmworker – indeed every man(and boy) of original Isle of Wight stock owns,perfectly legally, a shot gun and license.And for perfectly valid reasons.
I still can’t believe I had to offer this information.
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More than likely an air rifle, as the bird was wounded not killed.
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It is meant seriously.
This man came over from Northern Island to shoot – or trap – our endangered wildlife in a quarry. That must be prima facie grounds for taking the gun off him, let alone him hauling one over on the Red Funnel.
I doubt that any “boy” legally owns a shotgun.
Shotgun licences for the Hampshire Police area are only marginally above national averages (3,683 per 100K vs 3,353 nationally).
Anyway, maybe he trapped it.
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Was he there legally on pest control business? If not then armed trespass is usually taken to be a pretty serious offence. Otherwise, surely there must be plenty of islanders who could control the number of rabbits, pigeons, corvids or whatever if the situation required it.
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I don’t know what the figures for shotgun licenses proves,if anything.
During the last three years thirteen shotgun licenses have been issued to children under ten.
The youngest was to a boy of seven.
I think all of these qualify as ‘boys’
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You are right- there is no age limit. Well that’s ok then.
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Dear mark francis,
I was rather more abrupt than was called for. One of my bad days perhaps.
Anyway,apologies.
DOD
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Cheers.
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