A man who was previously fined for shooting seagulls with a slingshot has landed back in the dock after being caught catapulting ball bearings at another bird.
Bryan MacLennan, 34, returned to Tain Sheriff Court just eight months after his last appearance for similar offences.
He admitted a further charge under the Wildlife and Countryside Act, following an incident at Kirkside, Alness on July 24 of this year.
MacLennan was accused of a single charge of intentionally or recklessly injuring and taking a wild bird.
He attended court without legal representation at first and admitted striking the gull and rendering it unconscious before taking away the injured bird in a bag.
But he was then given the opportunity to seek legal counsel before the case was recalled.
Solicitor Rory Gowan later confirmed the guilty plea and admitted a previous analogous conviction before Sheriff Gary Aitken.
Calling for pre-sentencing reports Sheriff Aitken told MacLennan, of Firhill, Alness: “You have been dealt with previously for something very similar. This will need to stop otherwise something most regrettable might happen”.
‘Peculiar or sinister’
In January of this year, MacLennan was fined £940 and ordered to surrender his weapons, having pled guilty to three previous charges under the Wildlife and Countryside Act.
The court had heard that Maclennan was spotted acting strangely by police in Invergordon in May of last year.
When they stopped him he was attempting to dispose of an injured herring gull he had been carrying in a plastic bag.
A search of his person and home uncovered slingshots, ballbearings, herring gull eggs and an injured bird in a cage on top of a freezer in MacLennan’s kitchen.
The bird was subsequently handed over to animal welfare professionals and was treated and released.
Sheriff Gary Aitken said that MacLennan’s behaviour had been either “peculiar or sinister”.
And the offender was also told his bizarre actions were “concerning” and “not the way to deal with” a perceived menace.
The latest court case will call again next month when MacLennan will reappear for sentencing.
