POLICE have welcomed the maximum sentence meted out to former New Forest Owl Sanctuary director Bruce Berry following his convictions for illegal sale and display of wild birds and stealing a falcon.

Berry, 63, from Hightown, Ringwood, was given a 240 hour community punishment order by Southampton Crown Court and ordered to pay £10,000 court costs.

The order was the maximum length of community service that can be imposed and Sgt Louise Hubble, officer in the case, said: "We are very pleased with the result.

"It's the maximum penalty that the judge could have imposed before issuing a custodial sentence.

"I think that this delivers a very important message that people need to be aware of.

"The legislation is in place to protect endangered species and in the wildlife world these were very serious offences."

Berry was convicted of five matters - stealing a Sakar falcon that had flown away from the wife of its owner as she was learning to handle it, displaying three owl chicks and three tortoises without a licence and selling a marsh harrier and a tawny owl without licences.

During the trial he was cleared of furnishing false documents to obtain a licence and attempting to release barn owls into the wild.

A colourful and controversial character in the town, Berry opened the owl sanctuary in a converted piggery at Crow Farm on the outskirts of Ringwood in 1990 and it quickly became a popular local tourist attraction.

But last year the sanctuary was rocked by allegations of cruelty and mismanagement made by BBC wildlife presenter Chris Packham and his Inside Out undercover film crew.

Just days later, Berry was arrested when police wildlife officers backed by RSPCA inspectors, a vet and members of the force support unit, swooped on the Crow Lane complex, his home and aviaries he owned at Three Legged Cross.

Despite protesting his innocence, Berry later resigned from the running of the owl sanctuary which is now closed to the public.

Meanwhile, new owner Giles Talbot is battling New Forest council planners for permission to re-open the Crow Lane complex as a raptor and reptile centre.

First published: October 7