Gamekeeper shoots then buries two short-eared owls in Whernside, Yorkshire Dales National Park
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- čas přidán 27. 08. 2018
- On the 19th April 2017 RSPB officers witnessed Timothy David Cowin shoot two protected short eared owls in the Langshaw Moss area of the Whernside shoot. The disposal of the bodies on the moor was filmed, officers from North Yorkshire and Cumbria Police met RSPB at the location and intercepted Cowin. The bodies were recovered along with a Foxpro calling device. On 28th August 2018 Cowin plead guilty to shooting the owls and possessing the Foxpro. He was fined a total of £1000 and ordered to pay £170 costs.
What Bollocks. The Owl Killer should get bans, the Landowner should pay £60,000 EACH for those two owls.
@DUPPSS so if i consider the dog that nicks stuff from my picnic a pest does it give me the right to kill it?
Burtlangoustine..well said, time to come down heavy on these thick uneducated warped individuals that kill our wildlife
@DUPPSS Brilliant, cant wait for the next shitty dog to visit my picnic rug
@DUPPSS absolute nonsense you really are ignorant mate.
Couldn't agree more with ya mate...and as for DUPPSS comment below who fails to understand the difference between a chicken and a bird of pray that says it all...Far too many uneducated fools running around the country side with a gun licence...i'm surprised they even manage to obtain a vehicle licence with such a low IQ.... Its great when you come across them in the middle of nowhere...every one of them iv come across cant throw a punch to save themselves....Scared little bullies that will do anything the land owner asks them.
I'm absolutely flabbergasted that none of these offences result in an actual custodial sentence, they are always suspended and given a fine (that they can pay off at a pittance rate per week). We throw someone in prison for theft of a packet of batteries yet let someone go who willfully destroys the life of a defence animal. What an absolute joke.
Agree. Involves money..a jail sentence but kill something or even someone it's ok to go free
The Judge is probably golf club member at the same place as the landowner 🤬
As a shooting man, I can only commend the RSPB for their diligence in this matter. There are NO excuses for this kind of behaviour, none at all. I trust he has had his firearms and SGC licenses revoked. No room in the countryside for this flagrant disregard of the rules.
Well said that man.
Theyre all like this...search .22lr or .204 ruger uk .
every video is some barron ass farm without a shred of wildlife in sight and them all having to sit like a fkn statue for 3 hours just to get a shot at a crow 300yrds away . They ALL enjoy killing or seeing the carnage their round does to the birds...id bet £100 most have sub par iq .
@@TheCraigy83 fool
Josh youre entitled to an opinion...lovely free speech...enjoy it while you can...
Matt Sheed They didnt approach him or film him before the police appeared
£1000 only? Someone who would kill two owls this brutally would certainly do it again, as long as no officers are around. That's hardly any punishment at all.
facts wish they gave harsher punishments becuase people are always gonna try to extinct what ever is rare idk y but they just do it becuase they like to get away with it... I think they want too extinct everything that's there
They should at least give him a 2 million pound fine and arrest him for at least 10 years in my opinion
Anyone who can kill a beautiful creation that has just as much purpose on earth as we do deserves to be switched off, simple!
How could anybody do this to such beautiful creatures!?? Unforgivable!!
Absolutely disgusting what a magnificent bird he’s destroyed. Great work RSPB bad sentence by the judge !!!
Exactly! he should of lost his shotgun certificate. How can you trust such a person with a firearm, he knew what he was doing was illegal so how far would this moron push it?. But the publicity it would of generated would of swelled the RSPB's coffers no end, dare say the begging bowl was out!!. That is why i would never donate to the RSPB because they are not doing their job, they just "Virtue signal" & hope to get donations & free advertising from wildlife crime, i detest the RSPB!!
The courts are a huge mess. This fucker should have been imposed a 5 year custodial to stop other assholes considering doing the same to the wildlife. Shambles!!
Cowin is vile. Killing these beautiful birds is unforgivable. This moron should never have had a gun license.
@@mrsgrimes6716 true, that's why RSPB stands for Real Shite Poor Birds.
The sentence was pathetic that’s why they keep doing harm to birds of prey,
That bastard should never hold a license ever again
Almost as outrageous as the actual crime committed is the pathetic punishment this disgusting individual received....I'd have a mandatory 6 month stint imprisonment, otherwise this kind of terrible cruelty will continue..does anyone really believe he and his ilk now understand the gravity of what they do or that they wont kill more innocent wildlife. I certainly do not !
I would say 6 years rather than 6 months as we have to protect these animals. 6 months is nothing, while 6 years is a long time, so it would probably prevent many from doing it as it wouldn't be worth the risk to them.
and that's why you'll never be in charge of people.
"What are you in for? I raped and killed a family of 5 and smeared their blood over the walls got 15 years, what did you do?" "I killed 2 owls that were killing MY OWN LIVESTOCK, on MY OWN LAND, got 6 years" 🤣 absolute fuckin idiots, you've got these nonces wasting government money finding people who are killing owls, do something more important with our tax payer fucking money instead of going onto PRIVATE LAND harrasing somebody trying to survive
Only one way to stop this is to also prosecute the game keepers employer as well for allowing these practices. If they were heavily fined and shamed they would make sure it did not happen.
Other industry bosses are held responsible for their employees actions.
It's about time these scumbags where sent to prison they have got away with this for far to long.
Absolutely
This is bloody evil. I have watched a pair of short eared owls hunt and raise numerous young for the last 3 years. They are beautiful birds and every time I get to watch them I feel so lucky. He should be banned from ever owning a firearm again and never allowed to be involved in any form of Gamekeeping or field sport again.
Disgusting crime and total failure by the judge, the criminal shooter in my mind should of been subject to a lifetime firearms ban, firstly and secondly a prison sentence of year at least for each Owl. Fantastic work by the RSPB and the police.
What makes this so deplorable is not only killing these two lovely birds (and many more before) just so someone can shoot other birds for pleasure and not a necessity it turns my stomach.
If he had killed with a car he would loose his licence and so he should loose his gun licence as well as the fine, and that will make him think again.
No deterrent in the sentence at all. You need jail, big fines, firearms bans, driving bans, and bans from certain occupations. For any offence where it's very hard to catch people you have to up the sentences.
Great detective work by RSPB. Such a shame these people only receive such paltry fines instead of prison sentences. Hardly deterrent.
Poultry fines* 😂
As a hunter Cowin's illegal killing of these beautiful birds makes me both sad and angry. He is a fool if he can't see that owls are just part of the food web. If they take a few game birds, so what? His sentence was too lenient IMO.
I am a hunting man but think that what this bastard did was unforgivable and he should not be allowed to work in the industry again. I hope that he lost his shotgun licence? and never gets it back His boss should also be held responsible and should not be allowed to run a commercial shoot again. I also hope the majistrate or judges next shit is a hedgehog. The fine was just a joke
Totally agree, well said
You are correct he should loose his job & license but his boss is not responsible for his actions & I must say iam in my erea are sick to death of these RSPB FANATICS NOTHING BUT ANTI HUNT SABS
I have been in a sabs house. then watched her spray poison on wasps, Then seen the wasp go around in circles in the windowsill for 20 minutes until it died, she did not eat it she did not want it, but she killed it. that wasp had had a right to life.
TIM Derham dont talk bubbles we all no there bosses are also to blame and the hunting in this country is for rich land owners not working class i have hunted with lurchers all my life and these greedy land owners cause these anti idiots .just look at france and its hunting and then read how meny pair of hen harrier are there !!!
@@lukehollinrake3457 load of rubbish iam a working class man and have hunted all my life with every class rich & poor no diffrence .all predators need there numbers kept in check what ever they are
I am a game shot and am appalled at this man. I am having difficulty coming to terms with this person being described as a 'game keeper'.I know a lot of real and experienced game keepers and could guarantee they would not be involved in something like this.I hope he was punished accordingly and does not enjoy freedom of the moor any longer.
I am a hunter and think it’s absolutely vile to shoot these birds for nothing.
John Bryan yes
@@semi-automaticdooropened9007 You're a hunter? What for? Food?
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@James Major Try Flixzone. Just google for it =)
@Quincy Royce yea, I have been using Flixzone for months myself :D
His SGC/FAC should be revoked
The problem is that this is going on all over, It is well known that gamekeepers are doing this.
Fine is far too small and should be the employer that is also fined.
He should be jailed. It is happening too often in this area. The Red Kites are disappearing again too. It is time the employer of the gamekeeper bore his share of the blame too.
Boils my piss.
The fine was a complete joke.
It should carry a heavy prison sentence.
Again the jails are full of people getting 4years for Acid Attacks....let the bad members of society walk around maiming people and lock up people trying to protect their livelihood..from Science (according to someone else on here)
George , the answer to all crime is harsher longer sentences so build more jails !
I think there's quite a bit of evidence to the contrary. Why not bring back hanging whilst you're at it?
I would if I could. They wouldnt be freed to do it again !
The costs should be for all the investigation etc eg £10K.
I imagine the judge has ties to shooting etc.
Good work by the RSPB. The sentence however should have included his gun license being revoked and banned from ever acquiring another. Fines should have been more harsh as doing it twice was showing his utter contempt and disregard to the birds protected status.
Yeah, I think game and grouse shooting and gamekeepers has always been a sport in the UK associated with upper class and the Rich and wouldn't be surprised if the Judge was a shooter also. Regardless of that though the crime was severe enough to warrant a much higher punishment and assurances that it would not happen again. This guy could affective go out the next weekend and do the same thing again all to satisfy his bosses and the shoot he was responsible for. A lot of shooting land in the UK is owned by rich arabs and wealth bankers who have no interest in the wildlife on their land other than the birds they want to shoot for sport. Its time for more action and higher fines otherwise there is no suitable deterrent and species will become extinct at the benefit of lining the Rich peoples pocket with cash.
i agree. NOT well done RSPB and your right elfin4 'keepers are under huge pressure from their bossein smallrural communities with few jobs
Yes once convicted he would find it hard to renew a FAC. Losing your job is a severe penalty, but it would seem that a higher fine/ imprisonment would also be suitable on conviction and should also be applicable to the Employers as they are clearly complicit and guilty as he is.
It,s a shame he lives so far from me me and my mates want a word with him.
Why would anyone want to hurt or kill these beautiful birds
Shocking.. 😭 I'd love to bump into one of these monsters
Well done the RSPB and the officers, but that sentence was a f**king joke. A fine, a bloody fine and thats it! It should have a min been a custodial sentence and bans against ever owning a firearm or working on a shooting estate.
I completely agree.
Probably has lost his tickets
Hope he got sacked
Why the fine for the fox pro they’re legal
@@marklavern8855 a fox pro is a legal caller these shitty bent groups need to understand legislation. If it was calling crows illegal...as thats general licence. Rabbit squeaker is legal. Killing owls is bad. But this crappy group who has a rich ceo needs to follow law!
This guy should loose his gun tickets. What a scum bag. Take his vehicles and guns.
And i bet his fine was paid by the landowner/employer probably with a bonus payment for killing the owls. Grouse shooting is a pastime of the rich and his fine was insignificant to those people. Cowen should have been imprisoned for taking the life of those owls and his employers should have been very HEAVILY fined, as they share the responsibility for his actions. Bet the magistrate was a member of the shoot because Cowens fine doesn't even cover the cost of the forensics, let alone the police time.
shooting endangered fowl in the U.S gets your hunting privileges taken away for life most of the time and tens of thousands of dollars in fines. $1200 is a slap on the hand... should be more severe
punishment.
Thank you so much, RSPB, for your diligent work in bringing these awful cases to justice. It is some small comfort to see that the Police, to their great credit, evidently take these matters as seriously as one would hope and are prepared to spare scarce resources to pursue offenders. Once again: sincere gratitude to all concerned.
The big problem is its the grouse landlords no what goes on its big business and they don't want the birds of prey in the area
The Gamekeeper and land owner are both compliant,
I am 99% sure he has been instructed to do this by the land /shoot owner,
why would you knowingly break the law & risk prison ? it's sadly common practise well done RSPCA
If this man was a gamekeeper, why was the landowner not prosecuted?
Ps. The people of this country should LOBBY Every local MP and demand PRISON long sentences for these ACTS of CRUELTY or nothing will CHANGE
Should he have not lost his gun license, as he clearly understood what he was doing?
Why is this man's employer not being prosecuted. He was at work and doing the job required of him by his employer.
The reason is that the employer would also condemn this man for his action. It is not part of a gamekeepers job ( or any person) to shoot owls.
@@awalk5177 hes talking about vicarious liability in law
He is not required to shoot owls as part of the job
I live in a rural area where they rear Pheasants and Partridges. Game keepers persecute Red Kite and Buzzards cruel bastards.
And gamekeepers have the cheek to call poachers
Excellent job RSPB officers!
Sentence is a joke. Whats the point in govt protecting a species if sentences are so light.
No charge of cruelty to animals tho observed 'repeatedly stamping' on owl?
It really is no wonder people are getting truly sick of hard sentences for petty offences & soft sentences for serious offences.
Even a small jail sentence on top of fine would have felt a little more like justice and loss of licence.
Why didn't he receive jail?, that fine is no deterrent plus wheather or not he has a licence for that gun it should be destroyed and a jail term included..
RSPB, you are quite right to publish this. But I do wish that you would also point out that most, at least 99.9% of the shooting fraternity abhor this too. The majority of us who support shooting are not your enemies, but, true, some are. We would support you totally in rooting out all illegal activities. Please give that big majority of us some credit. You know why!
David Davenport garbage. 99.9% my arse.
Anybody that's shoot any animal or bird is my enemy. Sick and cowardly. Would you do it if they could shoot back.
@@philip9083 do you eat meat?
@@bastianhunter7278 Do you eat owls?
Great work from the RSPB Investigations Team and the police, but what an awful sentence, and a terrible shame that this country doesn't hold his employer to account like they do in Scotland.
Does he still keep his gun
These sort of perpetrators have a criminal mind. You can see by their actions, their belongings and how they go about their business. This would not be the first time this person has conducted this sort of activity, nor will it be his last. Due to the planning, the work, the manpower, the expense and co-operation of the wildlife protection teams that only now and again manage to actually successfully prosecute these individuals, you would expect the sentencing and fines to somewhat reflect this. Sadly, it appears that wildlife crime in the UK does not seem very high on the government's list of priorities.
They did a a great job. It's such a shame that the fines will barely cover the wages and costs involved in this mini operation.
Glad he got caught why shoot such a beautiful animal? Thanks for sharing with the world.
Absolutely disgusting what the gamekeeper did to the 2 short eared owls. £1000 Is that all he got fined?
BOP on grouse moors are regularly shot by gamekeepers. I would also suggest @RSPB do a sting operation on racing pigeon clubs/individuals. Last year I overheard in my local where the pigeon fanciers come to record their birds times several men boasting about killing sparrow hawks in their back gardens.They set up traps with live pigeons and the hawks regularly get caught and killed. Now imagine how many racing pigeon clubs/fanciers there are in the country and multiply. I bet thousands are killed every year and I don't believe anybody is looking into it.
not interested in him whatsoever; WHO WAS HE WORKING FOR ?
Black bob he works for the whernside estate north yorkshire
This man Cowen is beneath contempt. He brings the profession he works for into terrible disrepute. The majority of shoots do sterling work for conservation but the acts of one dick head have caused damage that can last for years. The fine was surprisingly light.
Shocked at how low the fines are. Especially for the stomping
He should have been tied to back of off-roader and dragged 50 miles over the moors
I wish I could be behind the wheel. There would remain nothing of these damn narcissts XD
I’d have loved to see that 🤣🤣🤣
A bit harsh mate
Bastard most game keepers are at it at the request of there stuck up rich bosses who shoot the grouse and other game birds should’ve gone to prison
@Steven No you shut up you inbred wrongun
@Josh Q balderdash
Should be a fine of at least £10K per bird. I’m surprised he doesn’t just leave out poisoned bait.
I'm sure they do leave that out too ....vile monsters
If that is all the penalty is going to be then there is no incentive for these sick people to not do this again!
Great result by rspb and North Yorkshire police, however poor sentencing by the courts. Since it has been proven that Timothy David cowin had used a firearm illegally why on earth were his firearms licences not revoked and a life time ban on the use of firearms put in place?
Because that would cure much of the problem over night, RSPB wouldn't want that? ...think about it!
These people need jail time, we need to deter them as a society.
Sad that this excellent work by the RSPB and the police resulted only in a small fine. This will continue to happen until perpetrators are sent to jail sadly.
Years ago my sons friend went on a training course to become a gamekeeper one day to my horror he showed me a collection of feet from birds of pray' he told me this was the norm for gamekeepers to collect such trophies from what they killed
Arseholes gamekeepers , kill & control is all they know
VERY UNSTABLE BEHAVIOUR Running away leaving guns and ammo open to all Gun Licence ?
I am really glad this cowardly scumbag was caught but the sentence is ridiculous. The shooting saddens me, the dispatch sickens me to the bone, running away and leaving a shotgun unattended when confronted shows what kind of a coward this man is.
Why was there no confiscation of his shotgun and his SGC\FAC revoked ??
What a joke of a sentence. Should have gone down for five years. This type of thing will continue until the courts take it seriously.
And he gets away with a fine this should be a prison sentence
Well done to the RSPB guys for bringing him to justice, shame on the justice system for not doing enough to dissuade him and others from continuing to do this kind of thing
A thousand pound plus miniscule costs ?, he should have been fined far more plus his gun license should have been revoked permanently for illegal use of a firearm
He should be in prison. If someone was to get caught selling cannabis(a largely harmless plant) they would get up to 7 years in prison, yet people killing rare and precious animals only receive a fine? It just shows where the priorities lie within the government in this country. It all comes down to money.
Hydro2oo9 total agree. The law is corrupt
Not well done RSPB, why do you think the punishment wasn't high enough?. There is not as much wildlife crime going on to "Justify" the RSPB, but they get their free advertising & more donations through the sympathy vote as long as they can have a little wildlife crime going on. Now if they were to take away a "Gamekeepers" right to own a shotgun certificate or firearms certificate they could cure the problem overnight!! ...but they don't want that!!. Now this guy has been caught he will be much more careful in future, if he hadn't got access to firearms, job done. If he is then caught trapping or poisoning it should be immediate jail time. But the RSPB wouldn't want that & it must make you wonder why?.
@@lee4847 And so is the RSPB!!!
The trouble is this is such a rare event, probably 99% of the rest get away with it.
5yrs in jail per bird that he shot .
Deserves 5 years, to contemplate what he has done.
Absolutely despicable person to kill such beautiful birds as Owls or any other kind of bird is sickening & very upsetting to see the dead Owls and wonder how many other birds he's killed? I hope he goes to jail! Thank you for the man that exposed him and called the Police. I'm also sorry to say the the punishment didn't fit the crime in fact it was a Joke!
Lock him up for ten years
Those evil people should be jailed. We don't have much wild life left any more.
As a sentence in court, they should simply just publish the offenders name and address on FB and Twitter....
Yeah great work, but how do you all feel after seeing the fines handed down ?? I bet you feel like you might well as not bothered. No doubt he's still working for the4 same estate doing the same thing day in day out. I see these vehicles on the North York Moors National Park. Anything with a large lamp on top I consider to be killing machines, and how much of a coincidence is it that I haven't seen a short eared owl up there for almost a decade, not to mention the absence of Marsh and Hen Harriers despite near perfect habitat. To be honest, if a magistrate is going to fine someone £400 it makes you wonder why any of you bothered. seems you are fighting a loosing battle.
Being a servant of a master it should be the master takes the responsibility I believed to be English law
Ridiculously small fine for a heinous crime
In these cases the people who own the shoot should also be fined to encourage them to only employ law abiding keepers.
I’m a big time pheasant shooter and all round hunter and I agree I thing this guy didn’t get half the punishment that he deserved
Well done for gaining a conviction.
Why did it take so long to get from incident to trial?
Is he still working or has he had his licencing taken from him?
If he is still working, a leopard won't change his spots.
An insult of a fine.
That is f...... horrendous is that all that bastard got? Great work chaps, such a beautiful bird , what a tragic waste
Sadly this happens all to often. Because the penalty is not strong enough to make them think twice.
I knew an ex work colleague who went to work as a gamekeeper. he was killing hawks. He got caught. What a tosser
Arseholes gamekeepers
I'm from the US, This would have ended so differently as soon as he starts walking away if he did that here.
He seems unstable. Surely he shouldn't be in charge of a firearm. He's obviously doing what the landowner has asked him to do.
I read about this in the daily news papers, a few months ago, first thing came into my mind was that he had been encouraged by the land owner to dispatch any bird of prey that would endanger the grouse numbers, and his boss saying something like, "oh and by the way if you get caught, I will condemn your actions and deny all knowledge of your activities, after all I have my families good name and the shoot to protect" this is only my own thoughts on this issue. I agree the lad should have his gun licence taken off him.
I used to watch a pair of short eared owls on grouse moors near to my home until they disappeared!!! . I have reported illegal traps in the past in the same area game keepers I suspect !
Well done rspb tho, courts let you down there
He should of been jailed, disgusting to harm such a beautiful harmless animal. Keep up the good work catching these scumbags.
Well done rspb and police officers that man should be put in jail for life.
this is common place in Perthshire I have known several game keepers and they all shoot everything
My experience too , gamekeepers r arseholes
How can a man be so vile n cruel. Bring back the old way of dealing with people like this.
Is it just the game keeper that faces prosecution or will his employer the real villain in this story share in his fate?
The employer of the game keeper needs jailing i have no doubt it was he/she that put them up to this in one form or another
He's just a numbskull, carrying out his bosses orders.
I got a bigger fine for no TV licence
What an evil, cruel man. Surely a £1000 fine is not enough to deter this slaughter of 'our' precious English wildlife? Cannot the judge order the removal of his firearms licence? That would make these gamekeepers/butchers think twice if their livelihood was at stake.
The amount he was charged with is pathetic. The fines should have been in the thousands. How can they deter these guys with such ridiculously small fines? Also, Cowin is one out of how many? We need a lot more involvement from the authorities governing our lands. Thank you so much though, for showing us that there are some people who are doing the right thing. Thank you RSPB.
Essentially he got away with it then.
ooo he looks a bright spark.funny how he got no fine or his license revoked for leaving a shotgun in full view on the back seat
$40 victim surcharge?! How the hell are the birds going to get that
There is no mitigation for what he did. He should be jailed. It was an act of extreme cruelty. He got a slap on the wrist.