A gamekeeper has been jailed for killing a rare bird and setting traps illegally to capture two others on an Aberdeenshire estate.
George Mutch, 48, of Kildrummy, was found guilty after trial at Aberdeen Sheriff Court of recklessly killing or injuring a goshawk and illegally taking away another goshawk and a buzzard in 2012.
This afternoon Sheriff Noel McPartlin said he had to impose a sentence which would act as a deterrent to others who attacked birds of prey.
George Mutch
He sentenced Mutch to four months behind bars.
It is one of the first times in Scotland that hidden camera footage, obtained by the RSPB, had been used in a case of this kind.
Speaking after court this afternoon Ian Thomson, head of investigations at RSPB Scotland, said he was “very satisfied” with the sentence which he believes is the first period of imprisonment to be handed down for cases of this kind.
VIDEO: Aberdeenshire gamekeeper jailed for killing rare bird
