A celebrity falconer’s media career is in ruins after he forged an animal passport for his Golden Eagle so he could appear on the BBC’ Alan Titchmarsh show.
Jonathan Marshall was seen by millions of viewers flying alongside the eagle Samson in a microlight but the moment of glory was to be short lived for both man and bird. Marshall has been banned from keeping large birds of prey and made subject of a suspended jail sentence after a Judge branded him as ‘dishonest and very criminal’.
Mr Marshall has been ordered to forfeit Samson the Eagle but Exeter Crown Court was told the six-year-old giant bird is dead, apparently shot by a gamekeeper in August 2013, a month after police started their investigation.
The highlight of his career was his appearance on the Alan Titchmarsh show (below) in January 2013 but he has also featured on the BBC’s Countryfile.
The National Trust booked him to run Bird of Prey shows at its stately homes but have cancelled the deal as a result of his conviction.
Two further charges of stealing a kestrel and allowing a barn owl to escape into the wild were dropped by the prosecution.
He was also ordered to forfeit Samson if the eagle is found to be alive despite Marshall’s claim that he is not.
“You forged a permit allowing you to keep Samson using a form relating to another bird, a merlin, so you could take advantage of the opportunity of good publicity by appearing on the Alan Titchmarsh show on TV.
“It was forgery and dishonesty and if successful it would have driven a coach and horses through the legislation which protects the birds from which you make your living.
Miss Bathsheba Cassel, prosecuting, said Samson needed special registration as an endangered species to show he had been bred in captivity and not taken from the wild.
She said:”In an interview with police he accepted he had modified the permit to enable him to take Samson on the Alan Titchmarsh show.”
Miss Emmi Wilson, defending, said:”My client is a professional falconer who takes great pride in making his living by flying birds and putting on performances for the public. He has a huge passion for what he does.
She said the BBC had not asked to see the document and he had used the other bird’s registration as a template because it contained all the details the programme asked him to supply.
She said Marshall was not able to pay the £1,500 costs of bringing the case to court because he is bankrupt.
This has nothing to do with raptor persecution but it does show that the courts see anything related to money a lot more serious than someone killing birds of prey.
Article 10’s are completely useless and have no EU database. I believe the first stage of the Law Commission review is pointing towards separating law directed at wild raptors and captive bred raptors which since the advent of DNA makes a lot more sense than wasting time on paperwork offences when the focus should be on the protection of wild populations.
It would be much less bureacratic if the keeper of Schedule 4 species was registered instead and put the responsibility of proof onto them instead of dragging people through the courts because they haven’t complied with EU bureacracy.