A warrant has been issued for the arrest of a man accused of stoning a seagull to death.
John Stafford, 31, is alleged to have intentionally or recklessly killed the wild bird, a herring gull, by repeatedly stoning and kicking it.
He has been charged under the Wildlife and Countryside Act.
The incident is said to have taken place at Stafford's home in Rushin Crescent, Buckhaven, Fife, on July 11 last year.
He has pleaded not guilty, and was due to appear at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court on Friday for a procedural hearing ahead of a trial.
When he did not turn up, defence agent Dewar Spence told the court: "I have indicated to him what the dates were, I haven't heard anything from him since, and I haven't seen him today."
Depute fiscal Mina Poppius asked for an arrest warrant and Sheriff Grant McCulloch granted it.
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