Two salmon poachers have been spared jail despite having previous convictions for the same offence.
Sentence had been previously deferred for background reports on Daniel Dickie, a 52-year-old from Croy, near Glasgow, and 45-year-old father-of-nine Garry McKinlay, of Milton Wynd, Huntly.
They had earlier admitted at Inverness Sheriff Court illegally taking salmon from the River Beauly.
The offences were committed near the Aigas Dam on July 26 and August 9 last year. McKinlay also admitted taking and retaining two salmon on August 9.
The court heard he had one previous poaching conviction and Dickie had three.
Dickie said: “That is me finished with it. I didn’t realise it was so serious. I won’t do it again.”
Sheriff Margaret Neilson ordered Dickie to do 250 hours of unpaid work and McKinlay 270 hours, because he pleaded guilty just before trial.
She warned both: “If you don’t comply with the order or there is any repetition, you are likely to go to prison.”
Inverness Sheriff Court: River Beauly salmon poachers avoid jail
