Overview
- Southampton magistrates convicted James Kempster of possessing a dead kestrel and a barn owl found at the Broughton Community Shop.
- He was acquitted of criminal damage because the court said the CCTV did not prove who dumped the carcasses.
- Prosecutors told the court DNA on the owl was a billion times more likely to match Kempster and an unknown person than two unrelated people.
- CCTV showed three men arriving in a car in March 2024, and police later found the vehicle burnt out in a country lane as they assess the role of others.
- Sentencing is set for June 23 after a pre-sentence report, and the offences carry a maximum of six months in custody or a fine.