24 



BIBB NOTES ANB NEWS. 



IN THE COURTS. 



" Recently Taken." — An appeal case of some 

 importance as bearing on the " recently taken " 

 clause of the Act, was heard in the Court of Appeal 

 on April 1st, 1908. In August, 1907, the R.S.P.C.A. 

 summoned a bird-dealer named Young, of Sclater 

 Street, Bethnal Green, for the possession of seven 

 young Larks. Two of the Society's Inspectors 

 stated in evidence that they saw the birds and 

 considered them to be young Larks, recently taken, 

 because they were very wild, beating themselves 

 against the bars of the cages, and their feathers 

 were of a light colour. The defendant was not 

 called to show how or when the birds came into 

 his possession ; and the Magistrate (Mr. Biron) 

 intimated that there was no evidence before him 

 that the Larks were recently taken, and dismissed 

 the case. — The Lord Chief Justice said that there 

 was evidence which called for an answer, and in 

 his opinion the Magistrate ought to have considered 

 the case further. Mr. Justice Ridley and Mr. 

 Justice Darling concurred. 



The Pole Trap. — At the Andover County Bench, 

 on May 8th, 1908, two gamekeepers, William Felt- 

 ham and Alfred Edward Hyne, were summoned for 

 setting a pole trap in Wherwell Wood. Information 

 of the existence of the trap was given by a member 

 of the Council of the R.S.P.B., and the R.S.P.C.A. 

 prosecuted. Mr. P. E. J. Talbot, who gave evidence 

 on subpoena, said he saw a Jay caught by its leg 

 in a steel trap fixed to the stump of a tree about 

 3 feet from the ground. The trap had fallen and 

 hung suspended, with the bird's beak about 2 inches 

 from the ground. The flesh of the bird's leg was 

 torn away, and showed the bone. The bird was 

 alive, but witness killed it. Inspector Hampshire 

 stated that Feltham admitted setting the trap to 

 catch Jays, and showed him two more traps in the 

 wood. For the defence it was urged that Hyne 

 did not " knowingly permit " as he had no know- 

 ledge of the particular trap found ; that the Jay 

 was " vermin," and the keepers had a right to 

 protect themselves against it, and that the bird 

 would not have been injured unless it had gone 

 after the eggs in the artificial nest on the trap. — 

 Hyne was dismissed, and Feltham fined 5s. and 

 costs. The Magistrates agreed to state a case. 



Illegal Possession. — At Haverfordwest on 

 April 25th, T. H. Brooks, of Cardiff, and T. Reed, 

 Penarth, were fined, with costs, £1 10s. 6d. each for 

 possession of Puffins taken from Skomer Island. 

 Mr. J. J. Neale, lessee of the island, prosecuted as 

 a warning to other visitors to Skomer. 



Cruelty to Nightingales. — At the Reigate 

 County Bench on June 13th, Thomas Bateman, bird 

 fancier, 31b, Percival Street, Clerkenwell, was sum- 

 moned for bird catching and cruelty to two Nightin- 

 gales. Inspector Green, R.S.P.C.A., stated he found 

 the defendant catching wild birds at White Bushes, 

 Horley. His top coat was composed of numerous 

 pockets, and in one of them he foimd two Nightin- 

 gales with their legs tied together. They were in a 

 terrified condition and were evidently suffering great 

 pain. The officer also found on defendant 19 bird 

 bags and 13 spring traps. It was stated that the 

 defendant advertised in newspapers Nightingales at 

 5s. each and 7s. 6d. each. Defendant, who pleaded 

 guilty, was fined £3 3s. 6d., inclusive of costs, and 

 the traps forfeited. 



Shooting a Bittern. — Thomas Hooper, labourer, 

 was summoned at Fordingbridge, on April 10th, 

 for shooting a Bittern, at Breamore. The Bench 

 considered that the man did not know what bird 

 it was, and dismissed the case. 



Bird-catching. — At Caxton, on April 10th, 

 Hezekiah and Walter Emery, bird-catchers, of Gam- 

 lingay, were fined 18s. Od. and costs, for catching 

 wild birds. They had several dozen Linnets and 

 some Chaffinches, two large nets, and several decoy 

 birds. They said it was their living, and they had 

 always caught birds till May and never been 

 interfered with. — At Biggleswade, on April 24th, 

 the same defendants were charged with being in 

 possession of wild birds. Police-constable Haylock, 

 of the Cambs. Constabulary, saw the men catching 

 birds on March 19th and 20th, and on March 20th, 

 Sergeant Bliss, of Sandy, found them driving to 

 Sandy Station with four crates containing 148 

 Linnets, 12 Greenfinches, 11 Chaffinches, and a 

 Lark. He took possession of the birds, which were 

 in a wild state, and liberated them. The men said 

 they had had the birds since January ; and the 

 Bench dismissed the case on the ground that there 

 was not sufficient evidence that the birds were 

 recently caught. — At Luton, on April Kith, Anthony 

 Barford and John Clifton were summoned for 

 taking Linnets. They were caught in the act. 

 Mr. W. W. Marks, Clerk to the County Council, 

 who prosecuted, said defendants were professional 

 law-breakers, and through the work of men of this 

 kind hundreds of birds were being caught and sent 

 to London every week, and the rarer species were 

 becoming rarer and rarer. From the Dunstable 

 district alone an enormous trade was done in Larks, 

 and small fines would not stop the practice. The 

 County Council looked upon these prosecutions as 

 of great importance, but the difficulty in the past 

 had been to catch the offenders. It remained with 

 the Bench to stamp out the business of catching 

 these miserable little birds. Barford was fined £2 

 and Clifton 30s. — At Stratford, on April 8th, two 

 Leytonstone bird-catchers were summoned for 

 catching birds and for cruelty to decoys. The birds 

 in this case not being a scheduled species, the 

 summons was dismissed with a reprimand on pay- 

 ment of costs, but Mr. Gillespie ordered the whole 

 plant, including the decoy birds, to be forfeited, 

 and further fined the men 15s. each for cruelty. — 

 At Cambridge, on May 9th, William Casey was 

 charged with catching 28 Linnets and Greenfinches 

 on land occupied by Mr. Millard, of Station Farm. 

 The defence was that Mr. Millard had given per- 

 mission, and as he was too ill to appear, the case 

 was adjourned. 



Bird Notes and News (issued quarterly) will 

 be sent post free to any address for Is. per annum, 

 payable in advance ; single numbers, 3d. 



To Members of the Society subscribing 5s. and 

 upwards per annum it is forwarded gratis and post 

 free. 



Printed by Witherby & Co., 326, High Holborn, W.C., and 

 published by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, 

 3, Hanover Square, London, W. 



