The former head gamekeeper to the Earl of Shaftesbury was caught with the dead bodies of protected wild birds of prey and several banned poisons commonly used to kill wild animals.
Paul Allen, 54, who managed a private commercial shoot at the time of the offences, admitted several wildlife crimes after police raided his cottage and uncovered the bodies of six dead buzzards and the body parts of three more.
Officers found three different illegal chemicals on his property often used to kill wild animals, including strychnine, Ficam W and Cymag.
They also found a loaded unlicensed shotgun behind his kitchen door and 55 rounds of loose ammunition, which should have been kept in a locked gun cabinet.
Allen pleaded guilty to seven charges at Weymouth magistrates’ court today after the joint investigation by Dorset Police and the RSPB. The offences included two of possessing parts of nine dead buzzards, two of failing to comply with the conditions of a shotgun certificate and health and safety breaches relating to the possession of pesticides and insecticides.
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Allen came under suspicion in November 2020 when a poisoned red kite was found dead in a field close to his cottage in Brockington, Dorset, near to the Earl of Shaftesbury’s home of St Giles House.
Elizabeth Valera, for the prosecution, said: “Close to the red kite, a dead rat was found. Both were contaminated with a substance and following the finding of those, an investigation then began.
“They went to the vets to be tested and toxicology reports found the rat appeared to be laced with something which had killed the kite.
“The police went to Mr Allen’s address, who was a gamekeeper at a local estate.”
Police searched Allen’s home on March 18, 2021, and found the remains of nine buzzards, illegally stored chemicals and the loaded shotgun.
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“There was a small fire in the yard and officers found various remains and the six buzzards and parts of three further buzzards,” Valera said.
“On further investigation they found the chemicals. Strychnine, Cymag and Ficam W are all similar, they are meant to kill things and the Crown says it shows a pattern of how Mr Allen was working and he was using these chemicals when he wasn’t entitled to do so.
“They weren’t under licence and they weren’t properly stored. It follows quite a pattern of how the rural police say Mr Allen was working at the time.”
Tim Ryan, in mitigation, said that Allen had no previous convictions and had lost his wife to a brain tumour, leaving him to look after their 19-year-old son and 17-year-old daughter.
“There has been a lot going on in Mr Allen’s life,” Ryan said. “He has clearly made some mistakes but he has had a great deal to put up with.
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“I have a letter from his doctor and am armed with character statements.”
Louise Dutton, chairwoman of the magistrates, said sentencing would be delayed until next month so that reports could be compiled on Allen and the severity of the offences.
“A written report will give us more information about you,” Dutton said, adding that “all options” including a custodial sentence would be considered.
The Shaftesbury Estate in Wimborne St Giles, Dorset, close to the Wiltshire and Hampshire borders, declined to comment on Allen’s court appearance.
The estate covers 2,225 hectares and has about 50 homes and a number of commercial properties, as well as running a commercial shoot, fly fishing on the River Allen, a trout farm, forestry and agriculture.
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The Glorious Game Sporting Company website says the Shaftesbury Estate runs partridge and pheasant shooting days of between 150 – 250 birds.
Tom Grose, an RSPB investigations officer, told The Times the dead red kite which prompted the investigation had been poisoned with Ficam W, the same pesticide found on Allen’s property.
“It’s very commonly abused for killing birds of prey,” Grose said. “It’s not up for debate that the rat had been laced with ficam w and the kite fed on that and died very quickly.
“That was found close to Allen’s address and the shoot he was responsible for and that enabled the police to get a warrant and search his home and premises.”
Grose said Allen had been a gamekeeper for the Shaftesbury Estate but had been recently employed to manage a private shoot at the time of the offences.
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Grose said successful prosecutions of wildlife crimes are “vanishingly rare”.
He added: “Successful prosecutions compared to the figures of raptor persecution are vanishingly rare because these crimes are being committed in quite rural, out of the way locations.
“Eye witnesses are rare and disposal of evidence is relatively easy.”
The worst counties for bird of prey persecutions in the RSPB’s Birdcrime 2021 report were Norfolk with 13 incidents and Dorset, 12 incidents, both lowland areas dominated by pheasant and partridge shooting.
The third worst was North Yorkshire with ten incidents, which includes grouse, pheasant and partridge shooting estates.