Witnessed a mindless act

[larachmor]

Originally Posted by FUDGEY

I am not too clued up on the law, but I do know you can be charged in Scotland and not have to go to court. The Police often charge people and the fiscal then looks at the evidence and decides if it goes to court.

Either way Fudgey - at least you had the satisfaction of the guy having his card marked, so a good a result as you could have expected in the circumstances. Offences like this are so difficult to prove.

[FUDGEY]

Got told today he has had a summons through and will appear at court Great news.

[JeffH]

Originally Posted by FUDGEY

Got told today he has had a summons through and will appear at court Great news.

Indeed it is - let's hope it results in a successful prosecution.

Jeff
(Schedule 1 Licence holder for Barn Owls, Kingfishers and Avocets)

[vole-woman]

Good on you.

[muldonach]

Originally Posted by earthdragon64

What a horrible thing to witness, and poor Badger.

Even if it doesn't get as far as a prosecution, then hopefully the Police will be able to put the wind up said farmer to the extent he mends his ways.

If this has happened in Scotland, then Bovine TB isn't an issue and shouldn't be used as an excuse. Scotland is free from bTB, and has been declared as such by the EU.

Fudgey, if your Badger expert is the one I'm thinking of (quite local to me), then he really is a great guy to get advice from.

Regards, Audrey.

Scotland is officially Tb free but surprise surprise that does not mean there is no Tb in Scotland - it means that the incidence of Tb is below some arbitrary figure.

A farm not far from me lost 3 cattle in the last Tb test - although all were confirmed as Tb free after slaughter.

I would have thought that the chance of a successful prosecution in this case is almost nil - since not only will the prosecution have to prove what the farmer in question did, I believe they will have to prove that he meant to do it.

Sorry
mac

[FUDGEY]

If the fiscal brings something to court in Scotland then there is more of a chance than prosecution than not. It is his job to weigh up the evidence and if they think there is a good chance of a prosecution he puts it to the court. Two witness seen him driving slowly along the road and when the Badger emerged he revved up and accelerated fast and hit the animal. This was done just before a sharp bend so I dont know how he is going to justify this quick increase of speed. Time will tell and I am confident of a guilty verdict.

[foxypal]

Anyone who hurts an animal has no heart and will one day get their comeuppence I hope!!

[vole-woman]

Anyway, even if it doesn't result in a prosecution, it still send out the message that Joe Public will not tolerate unnecessary cruelty to wild animals. It's really important we make a stand against yobbish behaviour or those who perpetrate it will feel they can get away with more and more.

I never got a conviction against the kids who took it upon themselves to throw stones at me while I was taking photographs of water voles, but I'm glad I reported them because the police knew who they were and went round and had a word.

And it's worth repeating, those who behave violently towards animals are very often the same people who tend to behave violently towards people (I had this from a policeman!)

[Brock Gray]

Well done.

[STYRBJORN]

Originally Posted by vole-woman

Anyway, even if it doesn't result in a prosecution, it still send out the message that Joe Public will not tolerate unnecessary cruelty to wild animals. It's really important we make a stand against yobbish behaviour or those who perpetrate it will feel they can get away with more and more.

I never got a conviction against the kids who took it upon themselves to throw stones at me while I was taking photographs of water voles, but I'm glad I reported them because the police knew who they were and went round and had a word.

And it's worth repeating, those who behave violently towards animals are very often the same people who tend to behave violently towards people (I had this from a policeman!)

Some very good points made here, VW. But! I behave violently towards animals. I shoot them! I also hate loathe and despise people who inflict needless suffering. There is a moral difference between an honest hunter and a hooligan.

Ric