Gamekeeper & sex offender fined after beating Goshawk to death in Perthshire
RSPB video evidence leads to conviction as concerns persist over misuse of crow cage traps on shooting estates.
A gamekeeper has been sentenced after admitting the illegal killing of a Goshawk on a Perthshire shooting estate, following the emergence of video evidence gathered by the RSPB.
Russell Mason pleaded guilty at Perth Sheriff Court on 17 March 2026 to killing the protected bird of prey and to a firearms offence. He was sentenced on 24 April to a 200-hour Community Payback Order for the killing and fined £890 for the firearms offence.
The case relates to an incident on 12 February 2024 at the Milton of Drimmie Estate near Bridge of Cally, where RSPB Investigations staff had installed a covert camera to monitor a crow cage trap. Footage showed a Goshawk entering the trap and being unable to escape.
Later that day, Mason arrived at the trap, entered it carrying a net and a stick, and captured the bird. He then repeatedly struck the Goshawk before removing its body and leaving the site.
Goshawks are a scarce and elusive species in the UK, having been driven to extinction in the 19th century through persecution and habitat loss before gradually recolonising. Current estimates suggest there are between 700 and 1,200 breeding pairs, though illegal killing remains a continuing issue, with dozens of confirmed incidents recorded in recent years.
Crow cage traps, such as the one involved in this case, can be used legally under general licence to control certain corvid species. However, any non-target species, including birds of prey, must be released unharmed. The deliberate killing of such species is an offence under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.
Investigations have repeatedly shown that these traps are sometimes misused on land managed for gamebird shooting, where birds of prey may be seen as a threat to game stocks. This case represents the sixth successful conviction for Goshawk persecution in the UK since 2015, with all cases involving individuals linked to the shooting industry.
RSPB Investigations Manager Ian Thomson said the case demonstrated how easily non-target species can be caught in such traps and highlighted ongoing concerns about their use. He welcomed the conviction but expressed disappointment that the penalty was unlikely to act as a strong deterrent, adding that more selective methods of control are available and pose less risk to protected species.
The RSPB worked alongside Police Scotland, the Scottish SPCA, the National Wildlife Crime Unit and other agencies to investigate the incident and bring the case to court.
Reporting by the Raptor Persecution UK has also highlighted that Mason has a previous conviction for a sexual offence. That conviction is unrelated to the Goshawk case and was not referenced during proceedings at Perth Sheriff Court, which focused solely on the wildlife and firearms offences.
April 2026
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