Poachers convicted after posting catapult video on Facebook

Three men have been convicted of poaching after broadcasting live footage of themselves shooting pheasants with catapults on Facebook.

The video shows the men firing off lead shots through the open window of a car as they drive along the edge of a wood near the Dorset village of Sixpenny Handley, The Times reports.

One of them is heard joking: “We’ve got a bit of soup tonight.”

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Local trio Shane Chapman, 27, his father Maurice Cooper, 45, and Peter Nurdin, 48, pleaded guilty to a charge of daytime poaching under the Game Act 1831.

The live video was posted on one of the defendant’s Facebook accounts on 24 November, Poole Magistrates’ Court heard.

In the footage, dead birds are visible in a cardboard box on the back seat and on the floor of the Suzuki Vitara, Somerset Live reports.

Chapman, who was driving the car, was fined £600 for poaching and £100 for driving off-road illegally, in addition to other costs. Cooper and Nurdin were fined £500 and a £50 victim surcharge.

PC Claire Dinsdale, of Dorset Police, said that poaching was “prevalent” throughout farms in Dorset.

“Where farmers have tried to challenge trespassers they are met with threats and abuse or worse,” Dinsdale said.

“Rural crime such as this is often hard to get to court, compared to urban crimes where CCTV and witness evidence assists a prosecution case. However, this is happening every week in Dorset.

“It is crucial everyone reports such offences so we get a clearer picture of where this is happening and when.”