Scottish businessman fined for terrorising 'screeching' grey seal pups with stick at North Berwick harbour

Richard Montgomery used an eight foot fence post to “prod and push” the vulnerable animals back into the sea at the harbour in North Berwick, East Lothian, last year.

Montgomery, 62, forced one of the seals to jump around ten feet into the water and was said to have left the second young animal “screeching” and showing “clear signs of distress”.

The incident was halted when office workers ran from their workplace to confront the man, who left the scene on his pushbike.

The police were alerted and Montgomery, who runs a golf hospitality tour business, was arrested and charged. He appeared at Edinburgh Sheriff Court on Friday.

Montgomery claimed he was attempting to help the seals back into the water. But his actions were described as “inept and ignorant” by a sheriff and “ill-judged and ill-informed” by prosecutors.

Montgomery pleaded guilty to a charge of conducting himself in a disorderly manner by harassing two grey seal pups by poking and pushing them with a piece of wood that resulted in one seal jumping eight to ten feet into the sea and he did commit a breach of the peace at North Berwick harbour.

Prosecutor Iain Batho told the court the two seal pups, said to be aged six and eight weeks old, were being monitored by a member of the British Divers Marine Life Rescue for around one week before the incident.

Mr Batho explained to the court when seal pups leave their mother, they usually find dry land for a short time where they have to shed their baby fur before they can safely re-enter the sea.

The court heard Montgomery had been cycling past the area when he stopped and approached the seal pups around 3.25pm on November 24 last year.

Mr Batho said Montgomery picked up the fence post and use it to “prod and push” one of the seal pups towards the edge of the harbour walkway, forcing the animal to jump eight to ten feet into the water.

Montgomery, from North Berwick, then used the large stick to push the second seal from under a bench and the court was told “the seal attempted to run away, but was pursued by the accused”.

The fiscal depute said the animal was heard making “screeching noises” and had showed “clear signs of distress” throughout its ordeal.

The court was told office workers rushed out to confront Montgomery and he fled the scene on his bike.

He was later traced and during a police interview said: “I caused no harm to their skin or bodies and the wooden post was used to prod them and not harm them in any fashion.”

Solicitor John Good, defending, said his client was a former deep sea diver and runs a company organising hospitality tours for foreign visitors to Scottish golf courses.

Mr Good said Montgomery had not struck the seals with the fence post, but had been attempting to “cajole them” back into the sea.

But Sheriff Derek O’Carroll described Montgomery’s behaviour as “extremely foolish” and “very unpleasant” and said his actions by wielding the fence post had been “inept and ignorant”.

Sheriff O’Carroll sentenced Montgomery to pay a fine of £1,000 to mark the offence. Following the conviction, Mr Batho, who leads on wildlife crime for the Crown Office, said: “Whilst Richard Montgomery may have believed he was trying to help the seals, his actions were both ill-judged and ill-informed.

“This incident understandably caused a number of members of the public who witnessed this incident to be extremely alarmed and upset.”