He was the pride of Ballymoney!
Posted on 10/10/2018 8:30:07 AM PDT by Gamecock
A hunter who shot dead a 10-year-old girl's "beautiful" pet Shetland pony - claiming he had mistaken it for a fox - has been ordered to do 120 hours of unpaid work and pay £500 compensation to the owners.
Samuel McLean of Greenville Avenue, Ballymoney, Co Antrim, was sentenced at Coleraine Magistrates Court after pleading guilty to a charge of criminal damage at an earlier hearing.
The court heard the 30-year-old was 'lamping' for foxes in the Castleroe area near Coleraine last August when the fatal shot was fired.
He told police he'd shot at what he believed was a fox, lost sight of the animal, then fired again when it reappeared.
It was the second shot that resulted in the death of Maisie the pony.
A defence lawyer said the fact the animal was an 18-month-old foal may have explained how his client made the mistake.
He added that it was also standing in a "dip in the hill".
The lawyer said when McLean realised what had happened, he immediately began knocking on doors to try and establish who the pony's owners were. He added: "There never would have been any prospect of a ballistics trace on his rifle. He could have fled and he could have evaded responsibility."
It emerged during the hearing that McLean, a keen huntsman, was likely to lose his firearms licence.
District Judge Peter King said: "Those who enjoy shooting and hunting as a sport are perfectly entitled to do so. However, with that sport comes significant obligations.
"Unfortunately, you have failed to handle your firearm in a responsible manor."
Sentencing him to 120 hours community service, the judge added: "If you can't handle firearms responsibly there are consequences."
Judge King ordered McLean to pay the owners of the Shetland Pony £500 compensation.
In 2017 mum-of-six Rhonda Burns (49) had written on social media about how her family had been left traumatised after Maisie was shot.
"Two days of the worst trauma any child could ever suffer - no 10-year-old should ever have to see her beautiful pet pony brutally shot by accident and left for dead 30 yards from her front door," she wrote.
"Our family are devastated."
Referring to Maisie, she added: "Sleep tight little princess".
Rhonda told the Belfast Telegraph at the time her children were horrified to discover Maisie, who had been turned out into a field with her mother Bluebell, lying blood-soaked and lifeless on a Sunday morning.
Bluebell was shaking in distress and trying to nudge Maisie.
She was covered in Maisie's blood and was frantically trying to get her to respond, said Rhonda at the time.
He was the pride of Ballymoney!
Unless he was stone drunk and half blind, I’m not buying that he mistook a pony for a fox.
Five-hundred pounds? Was the horse covered in gold?
I hate when someone mistakes me for a fox and shoots me dead.
What’s the name of the Lewis Grizzard book? “Shoot Low Boys, They’re Riding Shetland Ponies”
I can hardly imagine a more heart-rending thing to happen to a 10 year old girl, excepting deaths or serious illnesses to parents, sibs, other relatives or friends. This moron hunter should be beaten to within an inch of his miserable life. I am glad he’s losing his right to have a firearm, because he clearly is irresponsible with it.
Check his BAC before he has his eye exam.
Unless he was stone drunk and half blind, I’m not buying that he mistook a pony for a fox.
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Same with me. Some people have no business hunting or owning a gun.
Twins.
Worst hunter ever.
Stupid bastard.
Should be 5Kpounds, a couple of years in jail and a decade of involuntary servitude to the little girl and her family.
PLUS buying her a new pony
Stupid should really hurt. No forgiveness for *ANY* screw up with a firearm, none, never.
The accused was “lamping” for foxes. Meaning he was hunting them at night with a light of some sort. Over here in the States we’d call it “spot lighting” although not may cars and trucks have those nifty spotlights anymore. A pony foal isn’t going to be that much bigger than the largest adult male fox and you probably only see the eyes reflecting in the light anyway and the eyes caught in the light at night make a good target be it man or beast.
Plenty of worse hunters -”mistakes” happen hunting like when hunters accidentally (or sometimes purposely) shoot people.
I feel badly for the pony and owner family but animals are not on the same level as people (it’s biblical)
Worst hunter ever.
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Not even close to being the worst.
That’s the one!
Brits call it “lamping” we call it “shining”.
I had to look this up because every fox I've ever seen was about the size of a small dog. I was able to find a fox that made the UK paper as being a monster size fox twice the size of a normal fox and it was four feel long from snout to tip of tail, probably about 2 - 2.5 feet tall standing.
Let's say the hunter thought he was seeing an extraordinarily large fox, the biggest he ever saw he assumed, and the pony was a newborn. Maybe. I still would smell his breath.
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