RSPB SCOTLAND has declared itself "appalled and extremely frustrated" that court proceedings against a former gamekeeper accused of shooting a hen harrier have been dropped by the Crown Office.

After a lengthy series of pre-trial hearings, video evidence provided by the conservation charity has been ruled inadmissible as prosecution evidence. It has since written to the Lord Advocate to question the outcome of the case.

Back in May of 2013, RSPB staff were monitoring the nest of a breeding pair of hen harriers on the Cabrach Estate, in Morayshire. A camera was set up to film the nest – a routine procedure, according to the charity. Over the next three weeks the footage recorded at the nest showed normal hen harrier breeding behaviour.

However, on June 10, 2013, the female hen harrier was flushed from the nest, and immediately afterwards two gun shots were heard. A few seconds later, a man, carrying a shotgun entered the picture and moved in the direction of where the hen harrier had flown, and returned holding the carcass of the dead bird, and was then seen to pick up feathers which had been dislodged from the bird.

RSPB Scotland head of species Duncan Orr-Ewing said: “In our opinion, the video footage clearly shows an individual involved in the illegal killing and then disposal of a hen harrier, one of Scotland’s most threatened bird species. This incident would never have been uncovered had the nest not been monitored by our camera.

“RSPB video evidence has been used in the successful prosecution of previous wildlife crime cases in Scotland, including two very similar incidents of hen harrier persecution, and more recently our film footage assisted in the conviction of an Aberdeenshire gamekeeper for a number of raptor persecution offences," he said.

"We are appalled and extremely frustrated that the court has not been given the opportunity to give a judgement based on this clear footage, and we are perplexed by the inconsistency in approach to these cases that seems to be taken by the Crown Office. In our view, justice has not been seen to be done in this case, and the public interest seems to have been very badly served by COPFS.”

Responding, the Scottish Gamekeepers Association said: “The SGA has no membership interest in this case. It is not our place to comment, therefore, on individuals involved in the alleged incident or to provide a critique of COPFS. That is a matter for the various different interests involved in wildlife crime investigations. We trust that, had the evidence gathered been considered satisfactory by the appropriate authority, due process would have followed.

“The SGA has a clear message on wildlife crime. Any member convicted of a wildlife crime is removed from the organisation immediately. The SGA advocates solely legal methods for tackling species conflicts. More remains to be done to tackle wildlife crime in Scotland, and across Europe, but official statistics show an evidenced record of improvement in this country over a sustained five year period and the SGA are very much part of the continuing effort to see further reductions.”

Scottish Land and Estates chairman David Johnstone, commented: “Wildlife crime happens in a range of places – including, sadly, on sporting estates from time to time. We condemn it out of hand and urge the full force of the law to be brought to bear on those who engage in such activity.

“What we do reject is the assertion by RSPB and those opposed to shooting that the illegal killing of raptors is endemic on shooting estates. Official statistics have revealed a very significant decline in raptor persecution incidents in recent years and this is recognised by police and government."