An East End man who took two hatchling Cayman parrots from their nest, only for the birds to die ten days later, has been fined $2,000 and sentenced to 200 hours of community service.
Appearing before the Summary Court on Wednesday, Alfred Garmon Dixon listened as his attorney Delroy Murray told Magistrate Kirsty-Ann Gunn, the incident was borne out of ignorance of the law and was Dixon’s attempt at providing a gift for his son.
Dixon, 54, was charged with one count of poaching and another of possession of a protected species.
According to prosecutor Orrett Brown, the matter came to light after staff at Health City Cayman Islands, who were monitoring the parrot nest, noticed the birds were missing.
“The staff checked the CCTV and noticed that on 11 May between 17:33 and 17:40 a man was seen removing the birds from the nest,” said Brown. “DoE staff were contacted and, upon reviewing the footage again, the defendant, Mr. Dixon was identified as the man in the video.”
Although Dixon was charged with one count of poaching, the prosecution offered no evidence against him.
“The Crown is right to have taken the course it has on the count of poaching, as this was not such a case,” said Murray. “Poaching is the act of taking an animal for the purpose of selling it; this was the case of a father trying to provide a gift for his son.”
Murray told the court that Dixon’s mother has a pet Cayman parrot, and his son had asked him for one as a pet.
“Mr. Dixon did not go out with the intention of taking a parrot, but instead he happened upon the nest due to his line of work as a landscaper,” said Murray, who added that, when Dixon came across the nest, he took both hatchlings home and tried to feed them mangoes.”
The court heard that, 10 days after the birds were taken, they died. Dixon entered a guilty plea to possession of a protected species.
“My client was ignorant of the law, although it is no excuse. However, it does help to put into context this incident.” Dixon said. “Despite his ignorance, he has since accepted his wrongdoing, and has remained consistent, which is that he took the bird purely as a gift for his son.”
‘You must be punished and deterred’
When sentencing Dixon, Gunn said the matter was a serious offence which warranted him being punished.
“This is a very, very serious offence. Not only did you take the birds but they then died, which is a tragedy,” said Gunn.
She added, “According to the DoE, there are thought to be 600 pairs of breeding parrots in the wild, and each year, at least 27 are taken.”
Gunn told Dixon that, when contemplating the judgment, a custodial sentence was considered, however, due to his “limited means” she opted not to imprison him.
“These birds are a protected species and under the Conservation Act, you could be imprisoned for up to four years and or fined up to $500,000,” Gunn warned Dixon.
“However, you are a man of little means, and the financial penalties I would have imposed would have been tens of thousands of dollars, which is significantly out of your means.”
“Nonetheless, you must be punished and deterred from repeating this offence,” said Gunn. “I had considered a custodial sentence, however because of your ignorance of the law, I have chosen instead to give you a combination sentence, which will require you to give back free work to the community and to pay a fine.”
Dixon was sentenced to 200 hours of community service which must be completed in 12 months, and a $2,000 fine which must be paid by 30 Dec. of this year.
Magistrate Gunn returned a not guilty verdict against Dixon for the charge of poaching, in light of the prosecution’s decision to offer no evidence.
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