A legal battle between a former reality television contestant and two falcon breeders has concluded with the ex-TV star ordered to pay £500,000 in compensation following the deaths of three prized falcons. The Court of Appeal recently upheld a ruling against Barnes Thomas, a former contestant on the 2018 survival show *The Island with Bear Grylls*, who has since become a farmer in St Just, Cornwall.
Thomas, 40, and his company Upper Cot Estate Ltd were found liable after the falcon breeders, brothers Martin, 43, and Scott Nicholas, 45, brought a claim linked to the deaths of their birds. The brothers run Raptors of Penwith, a falcon breeding and racing operation adjacent to Thomas’s land. The falcons, which are used in racing events in Dubai, included one valued at £150,000. They argued that Thomas’s construction activities and scaffolding business generated noise that caused fatal stress and disruption to the highly sensitive birds.
The dispute traces back to Thomas’s building of a barn and associated work involving scaffolding equipment, which the Nicholas brothers said resulted in the birds becoming distressed. Specific incidents cited included an excavator bucket being raised within the birds’ direct line of sight for several days during breeding season, with the brothers asserting that the noise and visual disturbance led to both the death of three falcons and the loss of eggs. The court was also told the relationship between the neighbors deteriorated significantly during the dispute, with Thomas taking actions such as creating a lake and temporarily removing a public footpath stile.
Thomas challenged the initial High Court ruling issued in April 2025, which had found him responsible for the deaths on grounds of nuisance and negligence. He contended that the erection of a barn and the storage of scaffolding materials were reasonable uses of his property, arguing it was unfair for the breeders’ operations, described as a particularly sensitive trade, to restrict his land use. He also described the verdict as an unfair attribution of blame for the birds’ “stress deaths.”
The Court of Appeal’s panel included Lady Justice Whipple, Lord Justice Nugee, and Lord Justice Moylan, who provided differing views on liability. Lady Justice Whipple held that Thomas was liable in nuisance and negligence and condemned his disregard for his neighbors’ interests. Lord Justice Nugee found liability in negligence only, while Lord Justice Moylan dissented, finding no liability. Despite the split, the overall judgment maintained that Thomas and his company were liable in negligence, resulting in the appeal being dismissed and the compensation order upheld.
Lady Justice Whipple remarked that the case was a protracted and costly dispute for both parties. The decision reinforces the legal principle that property owners must consider the impact of their activities on adjoining sensitive businesses and neighbors.