James Kempster, a 39-year-old father-of-three, has been sentenced for possessing two protected birds that were discovered among 50 dead hares dumped outside Broughton Community Shop in Hampshire. The incident occurred in the early hours of March 15, 2024, with blood smeared on the shop window and the birds stuffed under door handles.
Sentence and charges
Kempster, from a caravan site in Totton, Southampton, was convicted at Southampton Magistrates' Court on two counts of possessing a dead bird under the Wildlife and Countryside Act. He received a 15-month community order, including 30 days of rehabilitation activity, and will be monitored by an electronic tag for six months. He was also fined £120 and ordered to pay £650 in costs and a £114 court surcharge.
Chairman of the magistrate panel Gary Chant told Kempster: "There is some aggravation, you have previous convictions, you continue to deny the offence and there was minimal co-operation."
Details of the crime
Prosecutor Adam Cooper stated that Kempster was acquitted of criminal damage, meaning he was cleared of involvement in the shop incident itself. However, DNA found on the birds linked him to the possession. The court heard that a barn owl and a kestrel, both protected species, were among the dead animals.
Mr Cooper said: "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."
Background and defense
The court heard that Kempster comes from a gypsy/traveller background, left school at 12, and has previous convictions for dishonesty and wildlife crimes, including trespassing for game such as hares. He denied the offending and showed no remorse, suggesting he may have been framed due to a feud with an unidentified third party.
CCTV footage showed three men arriving in a car, with two men getting out and dumping the hares. One man, wearing a balaclava, tore the body of a hare and smeared blood on the store front before stuffing the dead kestrel and barn owl under the door handles, creating what Mr Cooper described as a "horror movie scene." The car was later found burnt out in a country lane.
