RSPCA: Man sentenced for wild bird possession

Monday, 19 July 2010 12:00 AM

A 58-year-old Berkshire man has been sentenced to six months in prison and banned from keeping birds for ten years after he admitted keeping and attempting to trap wild caught birds, following an investigation by the RSPCA.

Phillip Vellas of Powney Road, Maidenhead was sentenced to a six-month prison sentence suspended for two years at Slough Magistrates Court on Friday (July 16). He was also ordered to pay costs of £7,500, to complete 150 hours community service and has also been disqualified from keeping, possessing, transporting or handling birds for ten years.

Officers found more than 100 birds - including a number of wild birds - at the home of Phillip Vellas on 7 April last year when a warrant was carried out by police with RSPCA inspectors.

He initially denied that 12 of the birds - including goldfinches, siskins and black caps - were wild, but could not provide the required paperwork to prove that they had been captive bred. Many of the birds were showing signs of being wild caught animals, such as erratic behaviour in their aviaries as well as plumage and beak damage.

Inspectors from the RSPCA's special operations unit visited Vellas's home last April after they received information that he had wild caught birds in his possession. He was already serving a 10-year-ban on keeping birds under the Protection of Animals Act after he was previously convicted of similar offences.

Vellas's older brother initially claimed the birds belonged to him. However, Vellas admitted the birds, along with trapping equipment, were his when he appeared before the court last month after changing his plea to guilty on all charges.

Chief inspector Mike Butcher, from the RSPCA's special operations unit, said: "Phillip Vellas was a man obsessed with keeping birds, but less obsessed with making sure he kept birds legally. He must have known he was in breach of his ban on keeping birds and failed to appreciate the cruelty he was subjecting these wild animals to.

"The emphasis on people keeping birds is always to prove that their animals were captive and legally bred, rather than taken from the wild. We are pleased the court recognised the seriousness of this case and hope the fine given to Mr Vellas acts as a deterrent to anyone else considering illegally trapping or keeping wild birds."

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Notes to editors

A link to download case footage is available upon request from the RSPCA press office by calling 0300 123 0244 or emailing press@rspca.org.uk

RSPCA, Wilberforce Way, Southwater, Horsham, West Sussex RH13 9RS
Press office direct lines: 0300 123 0244/0288 Fax: 0303 123 0099
Duty press officer (evenings and weekends) Tel 08448 222888 and ask for pager number 828825
Email: press@rspca.org.uk Website: www.rspca.org.uk

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