Roch Sonny sneaks a bleeding stag's head into a laird's hallway with a cheeky note attached.
Host Eileen Budd, a Scottish storyteller and tradition bearer, shares oral histories and folklore about poaching in Scotland. This episode focuses on stories gathered from an old poacher she met while learning the craft of ferreting for rabbits. Budd frames poaching within Scotland's social history, contrasting legal rabbit control with the illegal hunting of deer and fish.
The episode details the specific technique of ferreting using a handmade purse net and a ferret to catch rabbits, which is legal for population control. Budd recounts a story from Angus about a young girl in the 1800s whose dog discovered a Bronze Age burial site, or kist, while chasing a rabbit. The girl's mother swore her to secrecy for fear of poaching charges, meaning the archaeological site remained unknown until much later. The central figure is the 19th-century poacher Roch Sonny, born in 1792, who believed wildlife belonged to everyone, not just wealthy landowners. Sonny frequently debated land rights with policemen, ministers, gamekeepers, and lairds, often using his court appearances as a platform for these arguments. Local gamekeepers, who were often his friends, sometimes turned a blind eye to his activities, though they were pressured by lairds. In one memorable act, Sonny placed a butchered stag's head in the hallway of a laird who boasted about his trophies, attaching a cheeky note. Sonny lived into his 90s and was found dead on a hill, having passed away outdoors as he wished.
The episode also features a rhyming tale about poacher Davy Gray, whom local lairds tricked into becoming a hermit in Kinperny Tower for seven years with promises of free food and board. The lairds provided only bread and water, but Davy survived, emerging pale and changed but ultimately receiving a pension and a house. Budd notes that historical court records show women were also skilled poachers but often received lighter punishments due to sexist biases, which helped them provide for their families. This bias similarly enabled women to become successful whiskey bootleggers and smugglers, a topic teased for the next episode. The story of the girl and the kist highlights how fear of poaching laws could inadvertently protect or conceal historical discoveries. Roch Sonny's philosophy presents poaching as a form of protest against unjust land ownership and game laws. The cunning plan to imprison Davy Gray in a tower reveals the lengths to which lairds would go to stop a prolific poacher.
The tone is conversational and narrative, blending educational historical detail with engaging storytelling and traditional rhyme. The style is deeply personal, as Budd weaves her own experiences meeting poachers with the oral tales they shared. Listeners interested in Scottish social history, folklore, and perspectives on land rights and class conflict would enjoy this episode. Those seeking purely factual history or uncomfortable with the romanticizing of illegal activity might choose to skip it.
