Friday 6 February 2015

Deer DNA used for first time in UK to prosecute poacher

4 February 2015 Last updated at 12:24

James Kennedy claimed he had shot a red deer hind lawfully at another location

DNA from a red deer has been used for the first time in the UK to help prosecute a poacher.

James Kennedy, 70, illegally shot and killed and then removed a deer from the Glenfinnan Estate in Lochaber.

He claimed to having shot it lawfully at another location, but scientists matched a blood stain in his van to remains he had left on the estate.

Kennedy was fined £100 and ordered to pay compensation of £70 at Fort William Sheriff Court on Tuesday.

He had earlier pled guilty to killing the deer, gralloching it - removing its internal organs, head and lower legs - and taking the carcass away.

The incident happened near Glenfinnan on 2 February last year.

SASA scientists examined deer hair and also a blood stain found in Kennedy's van

Police, who had been alerted to a suspected poacher by members of West Lochaber Deer Management Group, stopped Kennedy's van and asked him about the deer carcass in the back of the vehicle.

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