A Co Louth businessman who hung a dead rook from a tree in order to scare away other birds has lost his appeal against a conviction for breaching the Wildlife Act. Giancarlo Orlandi claimed that 30 birds were making his life a "living hell".

Orlandi, a restaurateur from Main Road, Termonfeckin, appeared in Dundalk Circuit Court on Thursday having been previously fined €1,500 for his treatment of the birds.

Wildlife conservation officer Kieran Buckley told the court of a visit to Orlandi's home on 18 April 2004 following an anonymous tip off about beech-tree branches being cut down.

When Buckley arrived, he saw the top branches lying on the ground with smashed rooks' eggs and nests strewn about. He also noticed a dead rook strung up with baling twine on a branch 15ft above the ground.

He spoke to Orlandi, who admitted cutting down the branches. After being cautioned, Orlandi later admitted that a farmer friend told him to get a dead bird off the road and string it up to keep the others away.

Orlandi gave a graphic description of life with the rooks. He said the beech tree was overhanging his property. Initially, there were just a few rooks, but they grew in number until there were more than 30. They were making his life so miserable that he felt he couldn't get peace in his own home. He said he worked 14-hour days six days a week and was woken early in the morning by the "qua, qua" of the rooks.

He said: "I wouldn't hurt any animal. The rooks were driving me bananas. I respect animals and wildlife, but it was impossible to live in my house. It was getting to the stage where I'd have to move or do something. I couldn't live any more on my land."

Orlandi said the rooks were defecating all over the roof of his house and his car and he couldn't cut the grass during the summer.

Orlandi was prosecuted on three summons under sections 13 and 22 of the Wildlife Acts 1973-2000, which protects rooks and other native animals from destruction. It is an offence to destroy the habitat and the eggs and nests of rooks.