Thief who had an 'Aladdin's cave' of stolen bird eggs is put behind bars

A PROFESSIONAL egg thief who amassed an "Aladdin's cave" of illegal birds' eggs has been jailed for 23 weeks.

Richard Pearson, 41, was found with more than 7,000 eggs, many from rare birds including golden eagles, peregrine falcons and ospreys.

He admitted five charges of illegally stealing and possessing the eggs – one of the largest hauls ever recovered. As well as being jailed, he was ordered to pay costs of £1,500.

The judge, Richard Blake, told him: "I deliberately do not use the word 'collecting' because, in my view, it offers some legitimacy to what is a serious criminal activity on your part.

"You were carefully organised for an evil campaign against wildlife.

"You kept a careful record of your crimes relating to the taking of these eggs. My view is that you are at the top end of people who commit this type of crime.

"The message must go out from this court in the strongest possible terms that the perverted activity of people like you who seize eggs to satisfy their own lust will not be tolerated.

"People like you threaten the fragile heritage of wildlife for future generations, by preying not just on birds, but very rare birds."

Skegness Magistrates' Court heard the haul of eggs was one of the largest recovered since the Wildlife and Countryside Act was passed in 1981 to protect wild birds and their eggs.

David Outterside, prosecuting, told the court: "Mr Pearson has, in effect, admitted to being a professional birds' egg thief who operated at the highest end of one of Britain's most destructive natural pastimes.

"His house was an Aladdin's cave, full of illegal birds' eggs." Mr Outterside said a Royal Society for the Protection of Birds officer, Mark Thomas, described this case as "one of the most significant seizures of birds' eggs since the inception of the Countryside Act in 1981 and certainly the largest seizure in the last decade".

Mr Outterside went on: "This is very much a trophy crime, in which professional collectors simply seek to enhance their collection. Very rarely are they (eggs] traded between collectors and even more rarely for financial gain."

Pearson, from Cleethorpes, Lincolnshire, had earlier admitted stealing five chough eggs and three peregrine falcon eggs from Pen y Parc in Anglesey in April 2005. He also admitted stealing four barn owl eggs from a site near Saltfleet, Lincolnshire, the same month.

When police and RSPB inspectors raided his home in November 2006, they discovered 7,130 eggs, 653 of which were from the most protected species in the UK.

Officers also found 59 dead birds in a freezer in his garage, 21 of which had been shot. Not-guilty pleas were accepted by the prosecution in relation to these offences.

Officers also found dozens of data cards and diaries, detailing where and when Pearson had found the eggs.

The rarest included those of a red-necked phalarope and a Montagu's harrier, while among the dead birds was a honey buzzard. There are some 30 red-necked phalaropes living in the UK. The Montagu's harrier is just as rare.

There were messages, too, from Colin Watson, an infamous egg collector who fell to his death as he attempted to climb a tree to steal eggs from a sparrowhawk's nest in April 2006.

Officers also seized equipment used to track down the birds' nests from Pearson's house.

Richard Butters, defending, told the court: "

This defendant is simply a working man who had an overwhelming fascination for eggs."