Pair jailed for shooting rare kittiwakes in Tyneside (UK)

[Donna]

Two men have been jailed after killing nine rare seabirds at a South Tyneside beauty spot.

Dane Ord, 21 and Paul Reed, 27, pleaded guilty at South Shields Magistrates' Court to shooting the kittiwakes with an air rifle at Marsden Bay, in May.

The court heard the birds were shot as they sat on their nests at night.

The pair, both from South Shields, admitted an offence under the 1981 Country And Wildlife Act, and were sentenced to five weeks in prison.

The court heard how the pair shone a powerful torch on the cliff where the birds were nesting and shot at them.

'Cruel crime'

Police discovered the dead birds after being alerted by a member of the public, who witnessed the incident.

After the hearing, Mark Thomas from the RSPB, said: "This was a cruel crime perpetrated by people with no respect for wildlife.

"It was a premeditated attack on harmless birds, carried out for no other reason than sick pleasure."

Kittiwakes are medium-sized gulls with a small yellow bill.

They have a UK population of around 380,000 pairs, but have declined by 36% between 1998 and 2008.

They are listed as "medium" in terms of conservation concern.

[Lizz]

Disgusting, but I am glad that someone turned them in.

[Bird Crazy]

Disgusting, but I am glad that someone turned them in.

yes I am too, but 5 weeks isn't long enough it should at least be 5 weeks for each bird, and it should include time for each egg that will not hatch now (since they were on nests.)