Man dumped barn owl and kestrel outside Hampshire village shop

A father-of-three has been sentenced for possessing two dead birds of prey which were stuffed under the door handles of a village shop alongside 50 dead hares, in what a prosecutor described as a “horror movie scene”.

James Kempster, who lives at a caravan site in Totton, Southampton, was convicted following a trial at Southampton Magistrates’ Court of two counts of possessing a dead bird under the Wildlife and Countryside Act.

The 39-year-old was handed a 15-month community order including 30 days of rehabilitation activity and made subject to being monitored by an electronic tag for six months.

He was also fined £120 and ordered to pay costs of £650 with a £114 court surcharge.

Sentencing Kempster, chairman of the magistrate panel Gary Chant told him: “There is some aggravation, you have previous convictions, you continue to deny the offence and there was minimal co-operation.”

The court heard that the barn owl and kestrel, along with the hares, were found dumped outside Broughton Community Shop in the early hours of 15 March 2024 with blood smeared on the window.

Adam Cooper, prosecuting, said that Kempster, had been convicted of possessing the birds at some point, but acquitted of a charge of criminal damage meaning he was cleared of involvement in the shop incident.

The trial heard that DNA found on the birds was linked to the defendant.

Mr Cooper told the magistrates: “There was no expert evidence on the manner or time of death. Your worships are entitled to draw conclusions that the birds were recently killed rather than rotting specimens or for taxidermy.

“That therefore places the defendant’s handling of the birds closer to them being discovered outside the shop.”

The court heard that Kempster is of a gypsy/traveller background who left school at the age of 12 and had previous convictions for dishonesty as well as wildlife crimes including trespassing for game including for hares.

Mr Cooper said: “He continues denying the offending and therefore doesn’t show any remorse.”

He added that the defendant had suggested that he “may have been framed as part of a feud with an unidentified third party”.

The trial was told that CCTV footage showed three men arriving in a car with two men, who were both wearing balaclavas, getting out and dumping the hares.

One of the men was then seen to “tear” the body of a hare and smear blood on the store front before stuffing a dead kestrel and a barn owl under the door handles, in what Mr Cooper described as a “horror movie scene”.

The car was found burnt out in a country lane after the incident, the court heard.