Rhys Davies, from Gwynedd, north Wales, admitted earlier this year that he had used five Patterdale terriers to poach badgers and foxes at different locations across Scotland while he was a gamekeeper on the Millden estate in Angus, near Dundee. In a case that shocked investigators, his terriers were found with horrific wounds to their muzzles and trunks, which he had treated at home using unapproved drugs, antiseptic sprays and staple guns. Police were alerted when a photo lab technician saw photographs Davies had taken of men digging in badgers and fox dens. Photo: COPFS In one of the heaviest sentences handed down for charges relating to organized badger baiting, Davies was also fined £1,800 by Sheriff Derek Reekie at Forfar Sheriff Court on Monday on charges of causing unnecessary suffering and keeping dogs for animal fighting , in breach of the Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006. “It is deeply disturbing: the horrific, cruel and senseless nature of the crime, as well as the cruelty to your dogs,” Reekie said. “Being qualified as a game warden is an aggravating factor which is disputed [defence] claims of innocence’. Vets examining the terriers kept at Milden found that one was missing parts of its lower face and other dogs had scars and punctures on their legs, muzzles, chests and necks that had left them permanently disfigured. Some wounds were fresh. most were historical. Vets concluded that some of the injuries were consistent with dogs being used repeatedly for face-to-face combat with badgers. They were seized by the Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SSPCA) in a police raid in 2019, and have since been on the run. Chief Supt Mike Flynn, of the SSPCA, said: “A custodial sentence sends a clear message to anyone who wants to use dogs to bait and maim wildlife – they will be punished for it. Wildlife crime is a scourge: no animal deserves to be subjected to pain and suffering.” Davies was sub-keeper at Milden, a game and pheasant estate owned by millionaire financier Richard Hanson, long regarded as one of the UK’s most famous shooting estates. Hailed as a grouse role model by some government agencies and ministers, Milden supplied grouse to celebrity chef Nick Nairn and hosted school visits, but was raided by police in 2009 after a golden eagle called Alma was found poisoned. Other birds of prey were also found shot and poisoned there, but no prosecutions followed. Davies’ tethered cottage in Milden was raided by the SSPCA and Police Scotland in October 2019 after he had sent a large set of trophy photographs of his badly injured dogs and mutilated foxes to a photo lab for printing. The pictures included groups of men digging in badgers and fox dens. Horrified by what she saw, a lab technician reported Davies to the SSPCA, which has powers of investigation and prosecution, who alerted the police. Davies kept the terriers, which were unchipped and unregistered with a vet, in filthy kennels at a cottage next to his property. He also pleaded guilty to firearms offenses after police seized a shotgun, rifle and ammunition strewn around the buildings without being properly secured. The bodies of three dead raptors were also found during the police search, along with equipment possibly connected to the pursuit of raptors. Police submitted a file to the Crown Office, which decided not to prosecute Davies. Subscribe to First Edition, our free daily newsletter – every morning at 7am. BST Davis was suspended from the Milden estate and resigned soon after his arrest. Milden said his staff and owners had no knowledge of or involvement in any form with Davis’ animal fighting and said all of the animal fighting incidents being investigated had taken place well away from the property. The dogs seized by the SSPCA were Davies’ personal property and were not used to shoot grouse or pheasants, a spokesman said. “The estate does not condone or tolerate any illegal activity relating to animal or wildlife welfare and we were shocked to learn of all the allegations when they came to light,” he said. “The estate has co-operated with the relevant authorities throughout and is constantly reviewing and updating its compliance policies in relation to wildlife management.”
