DETAILS of poaching allegations were withheld from a former Highland
gamekeeper because of his reputation for aggression and violence, it was
claimed yesterday.
An industrial tribunal at Inverness has heard claims that Alastair
Pauley was involved in unauthorised shootings and poaching while
employed at the Cambusmore Estate in Sutherland.
Advocate Grant Hutchison said that Mr Ralph Abel-Smith, owner of
Cambusmore Estate, who sacked Mr Pauley in September 1991, had withheld
the identities of witnesses and their allegations for fear of
repercussions from Mr Pauley.
Mr Pauley, 36, of South Cairn Dairy Cottage, Kirkcolm, Stranraer, who
was gamekeeper at the estate for 11 years, is claiming unfair dismissal
and compensation for loss of wages.
Mr Hutchison said witnesses feared Mr Pauley. ''He had large and
vicious dogs and firearms. He could, in his own words, take care of
himself, he practised karate, and he had a reputation.''
Former Cambusmore YTS worker Donald Ross said he had accompanied Mr
Pauley on poaching patrols and had helped him remove 200 fish from a
salmon ladder by blocking it with the bottom of a baby's bed.
Mr Donald Burnett, a former employee of a game firm in Sutherland,
also said he had received fish poached from the estate.
Mr Adam Harris,Mr Pauley's solicitor, said Mr Pauley had not been
given a fair hearing by his former employer. ''Mr Abel-Smith said he
knew Mr Pauley had illegally netted fish and taken deer.
''It seems quite clear that a decision had already been made, and Mr
Pauley was guilty.''
Mr Harris also claimed Mr Pauley had no reputation for violence. He
said Mr Abel-Smith said in evidence that he had had no complaints from
employees or the public about Mr Pauley's conduct.
He added that details of the allegations made against his client and
the identity of witnesses were not given until January this year.
Mr Harris also questioned the credibility of the witnesses' statements
and the claim by neighbouring estate owner Lord Strathnaver that Mr
Pauley ''systematically looted'' the estate he worked on.
The tribunal will issue its findings later.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article