PRESTON MAN BANNED AND FINED FOR POACHING WITH HAWK AND FERRETS
A POACHER who was seen flying a hawk on the Bolton Abbey estate has been banned by magistrates from keeping birds of prey or ferrets.Michael Watt, 37, from Preston, was found with a live rabbit covered in blood and trapped in a net, which he had dumped in the back of his van, a court heard.
Police also found a Harris hawk, which are 'exceptional hunters', ferrets, hunting traps and falconry equipment in Watt’s vehicle when it was stopped and searched in Threshfield, near Grassington, last October.
He had been reported to police for poaching on the Bolton Abbey estate, which he had been told to leave, and also in several other areas of Craven.
His case was adjourned for trial, but in July he changed his pleas to guilty and he was sentenced at Harrogate Magistrates' Court on August 29.
Watt, of Marl Hill Crescent, Preston, was fined £461 and ordered to pay costs of £320 and a surcharge of £184.
A deprivation order was also made by magistrates for all the items seized by police at the time.
The criminal behaviour order bars Watt from keeping or participating in the keeping of a bird of prey or ferret or from trespassing on any land while with a dog, bird of prey, ferret or firearm capable of firing a projectile, or in the company of other people with such animals or items.
The order also makes it a requirement that he should keep any dog he has on leads and not allow them to stray onto private land, that they must be kept under control and wearing a collar with the owner's name and address and must also be microchipped.
After the hearing, Rural Taskforce PCSO Mark Allison who led the investigation said: “This was a highly unusual poaching case with Watt possessing a Harris hawk, which are exceptional hunters.
“Poaching is a serious crime which often involves other offences including aggressive behaviour, illegally entering land, the criminal damage that entails and animal cruelty.
“It’s also one of the areas our Rural Taskforce specialise in, which makes it much harder for poachers and other criminals to operate in North Yorkshire, and ensures those who do are dealt with decisively.”
