A man has been found guilty of possessing the bodies of wild birds of prey that were dumped alongside 50 dead hares outside a volunteer-run village shop in Broughton, Hampshire. James Kempster, 39, a roofer from Totton in the New Forest, had his DNA found on a barn owl and a kestrel that were rammed into the door handles of the shop.
Magistrates in Southampton cleared Kempster of criminal damage, saying the evidence did not prove he was the hooded person who threw the hares onto the paved area, left the birds in the door, and smeared blood on the windows. The incident, which occurred in the early hours of 15 March 2024, left residents of the village of about 1,000 people unsettled and upset.
The court heard that three men used a Suzuki Vitara 4x4 to reach the village, and the vehicle was later found burnt out a few miles away. Kempster has criminal convictions for poaching and was found guilty of two counts of possessing a live or dead wild bird under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, which carries a maximum penalty of six months in prison. He will be sentenced in June.
During the trial, DNA expert Kassandra Harris testified that the DNA on the owl was a billion times more likely to originate from Kempster and another individual than from two unrelated people. Kempster denied involvement, saying he had no idea how his DNA got on the carcasses. The mystery of who left the hares and birds remains unsolved.
Rural crime experts said hare carcasses are sometimes left as a warning or intimidation tactic. Philip Wilkinson, police and crime commissioner for Wiltshire, noted that a line of hares was placed across his driveway after a police campaign against hare coursing. “It’s intimidation. It’s signalling: ‘Aren’t we clever, what are you going to do about it?’” he said.
