Gamekeeper given fine for beating Buzzard to death
Shocking covert filmed footage helped secure a guilty plea from Thomas Munday but conservationists say sentence will not deter future crimes.
Footage captured by a covertly deployed RSPB camera has revealed the brutal killing of a protected Buzzard in woodland near Hovingham, North Yorkshire. The incident, which took place on 30 March 2024, shows a masked and hooded gamekeeper repeatedly beating the bird to death after it became trapped inside a crow cage trap.
A killing caught on camera
The footage shows the Buzzard entering the crow cage trap before remaining inside for several hours. Four hours later, an individual arrives at the site in an all-terrain vehicle, enters the trap and is seen repeatedly striking the bird with a stick. Although badly injured and clearly incapacitated, the Buzzard is removed from the trap while still alive and beaten again several times. The individual then lifts the bird by its wing, throws it into the vehicle and drives away.
The RSPB shared the footage with North Yorkshire Police, who later identified the individual as Thomas Munday, a gamekeeper employed in the area.
Police investigation and guilty plea
A police-led search of the land, supported by the National Wildlife Crime Unit, resulted in several items being seized, including the stick used to kill the Buzzard. Forensic testing found traces of Buzzard DNA on the stick, providing clear evidence linking it to the offence.
Munday was charged under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 with the illegal killing of a Buzzard. On 12 January 2026, at Scarborough Magistrates’ Court, he pleaded guilty and was fined £1,215.
Legal traps, illegal actions
Crow cage traps can be legally used under Government General Licence to control certain corvid species, such as Carrion Crows and Magpies, provided strict conditions are followed. One of the most fundamental requirements is that any non-target species, including birds of prey, must be released immediately and unharmed at the point of capture.
The deliberate killing of the Buzzard was therefore a clear and serious breach of the law.
A wider pattern of persecution
The RSPB says this case is far from an isolated incident. Between 2015 and 2024, 30 confirmed incidents were recorded in which birds of prey were caught and/or died in unlawful crow cage traps across the UK. Ninety-seven percent of these cases were linked to land managed for gamebird shooting.
In total, 34 birds of prey were involved, with Buzzards, Goshawks and Sparrowhawks the most frequent victims.
Looking more broadly, figures from 2009 to 2023 show that 75 percent of individuals convicted of bird of prey persecution-related offences were connected to the gamebird shooting industry, with 68 percent being gamekeepers.
Calls for stronger action
RSPB investigators described the killing as distressing and emblematic of a much deeper problem. They argue that illegal persecution of birds of prey remains strongly linked to land managed for pheasant, partridge and grouse shooting, and that without stronger regulation these crimes will continue.
Although the organisation welcomed the guilty plea, it expressed disappointment that the sentence imposed was at the lower end of what was available to the court, warning that such penalties offer little deterrent to others who may consider committing similar acts.
Reporting wildlife crime
The RSPB thanked North Yorkshire Police, the National Wildlife Crime Unit and the Crown Prosecution Service for their roles in investigating and prosecuting the case. Members of the public are urged to report any suspected incidents of bird of prey persecution to the police and to the RSPB, with reports able to be made anonymously.
January 2026
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