Man who illegally stole and sold wild peregrine falcon chicks ordered to repay £27,000

A man who was convicted of possessing and selling wild peregrine falcon chicks has been ordered to pay back more than £27,000.

Lewis Hall pled guilty to acquiring for commercial purposes, keeping for sale, and selling the chicks between 2020 and 2021.

The 24-year-old was ordered to carry out 150 hours of unpaid work over 15 months and banned from possessing or having under his control any bird of prey for five years after being sentenced in February.

The court heard how, in April 2021, a member of the Lothian and Borders Raptor Study Group alerted police to suspicious failures of peregrine falcon nests in the Berwickshire area, which had previously been productive.

Officers later investigated two nesting sites and discovered they had been disturbed, and a number of eggs were missing from both locations.

A police search of Lewis Hall’s father’s home in Berwick-Upon-Tweed subsequently found a total of seven peregrine falcon chicks as well as a number of other birds of prey.

Further enquiries concluded that none of the chicks were captive-born and had been taken from the wild.

Hall, of Berwick-Upon-Tweed, has now agreed to repay £27,182 under Proceeds of Crime legislation following a hearing at Selkirk Sheriff Court. The figure is based on an amount the court deems available.

Court records show that Hall accepted he benefited from “general criminal conduct” by £110,000.

The Crown has the power to apply to the court to extend the order to seize money and any assets Hall acquires in the future to pay back the full amount he made from his crimes.

Sineidin Corrins, deputy procurator fiscal for specialist casework at the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS), said: “The sale of peregrine falcons has become an extremely lucrative business.

“Lewis Hall took advantage of that for his own financial gain and to the detriment of the wild peregrine falcon population in the south of Scotland.

“However, even after a conviction was secured in this matter, the Crown commenced Proceeds of Crime action to ensure the funds Hall obtained illegally were pursued.

“Prosecution of those involved in financial crime does not stop at criminal conviction and sentencing.

“The funds recovered from Lewis Hall will be added to those already gathered from Proceeds of Crime, to be re-invested in the community by Scottish Ministers through the CashBack for Communities programme.”