A television personality has commended King Charles III for revoking Paul Allen Rose’s MBE after an interview with the Oxford Mail.
Rose, from Walney near Barrow, received his sentence in May 2024 after admitting two charges of causing unnecessary suffering to a protected creature.
He also confessed to a single charge of failing to ensure animal welfare, in breach of Sections 4 and 9 of the Animal Welfare Act 2006.
The 20-week prison term was handed down but suspended for two years, and an announcement appeared in The Gazette earlier this month confirming Rose had been stripped of his MBE due to the criminal conviction.
The Gazette publication indicated that the King had ordered the cancellation and annulment of Paul Allen Rose’s appointment as a Member of the Civil Division of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, dated December 31, 2001, and that his name would be removed from the Register of the Order.
The court was told that officers from Cumbria Police alongside RSPCA staff examined two of the charity’s aviaries on March 8, 2022.
Inspectors removed 26 owls from a storage unit on Brady’s Yard after discovering them housed in cramped, cluttered enclosures within an aviary lacking any windows, while a further five owls were taken from his residence on Foxfield Lane in Walney.
During the visits, inspectors discovered owls suffering from neurological disorders and other birds with existing or past injuries that had not received appropriate veterinary treatment.
Wildlife presenter Michaela Strachan shared her perspective on the matter during a conversation with the Oxford Mail this week.
The Springwatch presenter was speaking ahead of her upcoming Not Just a Wild Life live tour, which commences next month and includes a performance in nearby Newbury on Wednesday, April 29.
When questioned about the MBE revocation generating national attention this month, Strachan indicated she could not comment extensively since she had no prior knowledge of the situation. She expressed that in her view, if anyone mistreats wildlife, regardless of when it occurred, it is positive that they are being held accountable.
The court heard that in most instances, the owls were confined to cramped, unsuitable spaces, with some housed in dog crates barely wider than their wingspan.
Rose, who had served as an RAF reservist for numerous years, received his MBE on December 31, 2001 in recognition of services to the defence sector.
The founder of the sanctuary was prohibited from owning or caring for any birds for five years to allow him to engage in educational work.
The order additionally barred Rose from managing or overseeing how birds are maintained.