Scottish gamekeeper George Mutch found guilty of appalling raptor persecution crimes on Aberdeenshire sporting estate

A Scottish gamekeeper has been convicted on four charges of wildlife crime, including the killing of a goshawk which had been trapped and then clubbed to death. George Mutch, a gamekeeper on the Kildrummy Estate in Aberdeenshire, committed his crimes in August and September 2012. He was filmed by cameras deployed by RSPB Scotland as part of a research project into the use of crow cage traps. Mutch had denied the charges, which led to a long-running prosecution case which finally concluded today with his conviction. He will be sentenced in January. He has apparently been expelled from the Scottish Gamekeepers’ Association. More details of this case and a link to the video footage here.