A man who killed a protected sparrowhawk in his neighbour’s garden, using a catapult, has been spared jail but handed a fine of over £800.

Yovanis Cruz, of Copsey Grove, Portsmouth, appeared at Portsmouth Magistrates’ Court today (25 February 2020) facing 1 charge of intentionally killing a wild bird contrary to the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. He pleaded guilty and was fined £653 plus £85 costs and a £63 victim surcharge.

Cruz, who keeps racing pigeons in his garden, was caught red-handed by his neighbour’s CCTV camera on 2 December 2019. The footage shows him sitting on his garden fence and a sparrowhawk – which has caught a pigeon – on the ground below. Cruz fires at the sparrowhawk twice, killing it, then attempts to recover the body with a rake.

The neighbour reported the incident to Hampshire Police and the RSPB who launched a joint investigation. A post-mortem revealed a ball-bearing lodged in the sparrowhawk’s skull.

Source: RSPB

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