Overview

• Clive Burgoyne, 38, pleaded guilty at Forfar Sheriff Court on April 22 to a breach of wildlife legislation for poisoning pheasant carcasses in early 2023
• He left four gutted pheasant carcasses coated with a known rodenticide on the Guynd estate near Arbroath to harm birds of prey in a feud over shooting rights
• DNA matching Burgoyne was recovered from all four pheasants and analysis by Science and Advice for Scottish Agriculture confirmed the blue grain was a rodenticide formulation
• Crown prosecutors highlighted the case as evidence of effective collaboration between COPFS, Police Scotland and agricultural scientists in securing critical forensic proof
• Burgoyne must complete 135 hours of community payback work within 12 months under the order imposed on June 5, 2025