A rare buzzard died a slow and painful death after becoming caught in a trap on a Highland Perthshire estate.
The bird of prey became caught in the crow cage in the remote area and was only discovered two months later by a hillwalker, Perth Sheriff Court heard on Wednesday.
Glen Lyon Estate gamekeeper Jonathan Graham (30) was blamed for the death because he had not checked the trap daily and had not dismantled it after the summer season.
He pled guilty to a breaching his statutory duties under the Wildlife and Countryside Act between September 1 2010 and February 28 2011 and was fined £450.
It means Graham may lose his job as he will not be able to gain a general licence to carry out regular duties for the next five years.
The sentence was welcomed by conservationists.
Bob Elliot, head of investigations with the RSPB Scotland, said: ”He should have been aware of the general licence provisions, which are very clear. Gamekeepers are professional vermin controllers so they are responsible for understanding the general licence and its provisions and this man obviously wasn’t aware.”
The court heard how the legal crow cage trap had been constructed on the estate, near Pitlochry, which breeds partridges and pheasants for the shooting season.
The large trap is designed so that birds can fly into it but cannot escape. It is meant to be checked daily and, if not in use, the door or side panel removed so animals can escape.
The court heard how a hillwalker called police anonymously to report the dead buzzard.
Officers discovered its remains had been there around two months and the trap had not been rendered inoperable but the door had been left ajar.
Graham who had also initially been accused of the death of a sparrowhawk in the trap, as well as catching two chaffinches admitted it had been his responsibility.
Graham’s agent David McKie, who is also solicitor for the Scottish Gamekeepers’ Association, said his client was fully aware of the regulations but ”mistook the law”.
He said he had thought a bucket, placed there by a colleague, had been enough to disable the trap.
”He’s not the first gamekeeper to make a mistake in the interpretation of the general licence,” he said.
Mr McKie referenced the recent high-profile case at Forfar Sheriff Court of Robert Christie, convicted of trapping an owl illegally under similar circumstances but admonished because a stiffer penalty would have cost him his job.
He said Graham’s case should be handled in the same way.
Sheriff Robert McCreadie disagreed, pointing out the owl in the Christie case had survived.
He said: ”This case involved a dereliction of duty and it is clear you did not act as a reasonably competent gamekeeper would be expected to act.
”You should have been aware a cage could trap such a bird and the consequences of your omissions.
”I’m satisfied having regard to the facts that this is the kind of case where a fine is appropriate, not only for you but to stop others neglecting their duties in a similar manner.”