Hen harriers have additional legal protection. Photo: Bernard Stam CC-BY-SA-2.0
A former gamekeeper has been fined after he was covertly recorded trying to kill a legally protected bird of prey.
Racster Dingwall pleaded guilty to encouraging or assisting bird of prey persecution, using the Serious Crime Act 2007, believed to be the first case of its kind in the country.
The incident happened in October 2024 on Grassington Moor in the Yorkshire Dales.
North Yorkshire Police said a covert camera placed by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds captured footage of three men on the moor, using radios and speaking in code to discuss shooting towards and killing wild birds, including hen harriers.
The recording was passed to North Yorkshire Police, and an investigation was launched by the force’s rural taskforce.
“The footage was processed by technicians at the Regional Scientific Support Services, and an expert from the National Wildlife Crime Unit was called in to interpret it,” a police spokesperson said.
“This analysis showed that one of the men, later identified as gamekeeper Racster Dingwall, was in possession of a semi-automatic shotgun for the sole purpose of killing a hen harrier.”
Dingwall, 35, from Ellingstring, in Wensleydale, but who formerly lived near Grassington, was interviewed by rural taskforce officers, and subsequently charged with encouraging or assisting the killing of a schedule 1 wild bird, contrary to sections 45 and 58 of the Serious Crime Act 2007; and possessing a shotgun for the purpose of killing a schedule 1 wild bird, contrary to section 18 (2) of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.
Dingwall pleaded guilty to both offences at York Magistrates’ Court, where he was ordered to pay a total of £1,520 in fines, victim surcharge and prosecution costs.
All wild birds are protected by law, and schedule 1 birds, including hen harriers, have additional protection.
It is thought to be the first time a charge of encouraging or assisting an offence under the Serious Crime Act 2007 has been used in relation to bird of prey persecution.
North Yorkshire, and the Yorkshire Dales national park, are among some of England’s worst areas for recorded raptor persecution.
After the sentencing hearing, Inspector Mark Earnshaw of North Yorkshire Police said: “The cruel and illegal persecution of hen harriers and other birds of prey is totally unacceptable.
“This outcome at court follows a thorough police investigation, and incontrovertible evidence. It should send a strong message to anyone else engaged in this criminality: they will be investigated, identified, and put before the courts to face the consequences of their actions.”
The RSPB said these types of raptor persecution crimes are almost undetectable, as they happen in remote locations and during unsociable hours, away from public eyes.
It said Dingwall was the head gamekeeper on the Conistone and Grassington Estate.
Mark Thomas, UK head of investigations, said: “This landmark conviction has shone a light on this issue, revealing the lengths individuals will go to in order to illegally target these protected birds of prey.
“Shockingly, over 100 hen harriers have been confirmed or suspected to have been illegally killed on or near grouse moors in the UK in just the last five years. The RSPB will not rest until the future for this bird is secured and that can only happen with legislative change.
“Government licensing of grouse shooting is now essential to change practices in this sector“.
Howard Jones, RSPB senior investigations officer, added: “Once again, RSPB video evidence has been crucial in securing a significant conviction for raptor persecution.
“We were pleased that the RSPB’s covert evidence, so brilliantly gathered by the team, was ruled admissible in this case and we thank the police, the NWCU and the [Crown Prosecution Service] for their work in securing justice.”
