Man fined for illegal bird trapping after 14 wild birds found in cramped cages

Kent man is fined after RSPCA officers find the birds and a feeder coated in glue

A man has been fined for illegally trapping and keeping wild birds at his Kent home after RSPCA officers found 14 wild birds being kept in tiny cages as well as a bird feeder coated in glue.

Frantisek Fercak (DoB:​ 03/06/77) of Albion Terrace, Gravesend appeared at Chatham Magistrates’ Court on Monday (11 December) where he pleaded guilty to five offences under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.

RSPCA inspector Cliff Harrison, who led an investigation into the bird keeper, said: “When we visited Mr Fercak’s home on 8 September along with Kent Police we found 13 goldfinches being kept in little cages around his home as well as one siskin.

“Sadly, we also found one goldfinch who had died. These wild birds can’t cope in captivity and become very distressed being shut in cages. They don’t understand the concept of being confined and, tragically, they often die.

“As well as the birds, we also found various tools at his home that suggest he was also trapping the birds himself.

“A bird feeder in the garden as well as twigs attached to the seed holders were covered in a glue-like substance. This is a tactic we’ve seen before by bird trappers who are trying to attract the birds to food and then capture them.

“We found an open tube of rodent glue nearby. Not only is it illegal to trap these birds but the RSPCA also has real concerns about these glue products that are used to catch any bird or animal as they can be extremely painful and distressing for animals who get stuck in them, and can cause them to die slow, agonising deaths.”

Three cages were found in the living room each containing a number of birds. The birds were removed and later released back into the wild.

“When we asked Mr Fercak about the birds he said they were his and he’d bought them back from his country of the Czech Republic,” inspector Harrison added.

At court this week, Fercak pleaded guilty to all the charges and was fined a total of £500 plus £300 court costs and a £50 victim surcharge.