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Bolton Abbey poacher sentenced for animal cruelty

Friday, 29 August 2025 16:41

Michael Watt, 37, took a hawk to the Bolton Abbey estate.

A Preston man has been sentenced for animal cruelty and poaching offences after being caught with a live rabbit trapped in a net in the back of his van.

Michael Watt, 37, was stopped by police in Threshfield last October after reports of poaching on the Bolton Abbey estate and other parts of Craven.

Inside his van, officers discovered a rabbit covered in blood and trapped in a net, along with a Harris hawk, ferrets, hunting nets, traps and falconry equipment.

Specialist officers from North Yorkshire Police’s Rural Task Force led the investigation. Watt was charged with two counts of poaching, causing unnecessary suffering to an animal and obstructing the police.

He pleaded guilty and appeared at Harrogate Magistrates’ Court today (Friday), where he was handed a ten-year Criminal Behaviour Order and ordered to pay almost £1,000 in fines, costs and other charges.

The order — which police are increasingly using to combat poaching — bans Watt from keeping birds of prey or ferrets, restricts his hunting activities and places strict conditions on entering land.

Officers confirmed that all items linked to poaching have been seized and the animals taken into the care of rescue specialists.

Rural Taskforce PCSO Mark Allison, who led the investigation, said:

“This was a highly unusual poaching case with Watt possessing a Harris hawk, which are exceptional hunters.

“Poaching often involves other offences including aggressive behaviour, illegally entering land, the criminal damage that entails and animal cruelty.

“It’s also one of the areas our Rural Taskforce specialise in, which makes it much harder for poachers and other criminals to operate in North Yorkshire, and ensures those who do are dealt with decisively.”

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