A BUSINESSMAN who terrorised two grey seal pups with a large wooden post at a Scottish harbour has been ordered to pay a fine.
Richard Montgomery was seen using an eight-foot fence post to “prod and push” the seals into the sea in North Berwick in 2024, the Daily Record reports.
The 62-year-old businessman reportedly forced one pup to jump around 10 feet into the air, whilst a second was left “showing clear signs of distress” and “screeching”.
Nearby office staff confronted him before he fled the scene on a pushbike, prompting onlookers to alert the police.
Montgomery, who operates a golf hospitality tour firm, was later arrested and charged before appearing at Edinburgh Sheriff Court on Friday, August 22.
He claimed to have been helping the small animals back into the water, though a sheriff called his actions “inept and ignorant”. Prosecutors called the incident “ill-judged”.
Montgomery pleaded guilty to conducting himself in a disorderly manner by harassing the seal pups, causing one to leap “eight to 10 feet into the air” and committing a breach of the peace at North Berwick harbour.
The court heard that both of the creatures, estimated to be around six to eight weeks old at the time of the incident, had been monitored by a staff member from the British Divers Marine Life Rescue for around a week.
Prosecutor Iain Batho told the court that after seal pups leave their mother, they typically seek dry land for a short period of time before shedding their baby fur and heading safely back to water.
Montgomery was reportedly seen cycling through the area before stopping to approach the baby seals around 3:25pm on November 24, 2024.
During a police interview, he told officers he had caused “no damage to their skin or bodies” and that the post was simply used to “prod” the pups with no intention to cause harm “in any fashion”.
Solicitor John Good, defending, told the court that Montgomery was a former deep-sea diver before embarking on his business ventures.
Good said his client had in fact been attempting to “cajole” the pups back into the water, adding: “He accepts this was not appropriate at the time. There had been no intention to cause any harm to the pups."
Sheriff Derek O’Carroll called Montogmery’s behaviour “very unpleasant” and “extremely foolish”.
Montgomery was then ordered to pay a £1000 fine.
“Whilst Richard Montgomery may have believed he was trying to help the seals, his actions were both ill-judged and ill-informed,” Batho said.
He added: “COPFS takes the prosecution of wildlife crime extremely seriously and prosecutorial action will be taken if there is sufficient evidence, if it is appropriate and in the public interest to do so.
"This case also highlights the impact that offences against wildlife can have on members of the public as well as the animals themselves, and that appropriate action will be taken in relation to such conduct."
