Thousands of bird eggs have been seized by police in the Forest of Dean in a bid to crackdown on organised illegal wildlife trade. The international investigation, which began in Norway in June 2023, has seen 16 warrants executed and over 50,000 eggs seized, with 16 people arrested.
Gloucestershire Police carried out a warrant at an address in Longhope as part of coordinated warrants across the country. Roughly 5,000 eggs from a variety of birds were seized in November. No arrests have been made but investigations are continuing, police have said.
Police Constable Cath McDay, rural, wildlife and heritage crime officer, said: “Birds, their eggs and their nests are protected under numerous pieces of legislation. Unfortunately, some people still like to collect eggs. When those eggs are taken, those birds are no longer in the wild and are no longer breeding.
“Our wildlife is vitally important in this country and something that we should be targeting. Organised crime is often involved, and a huge amount of money can go back and forth in these deals.
A handful of the eggs seized by police
(Image: Gloucestershire Police)
“While our officers will rightly always focus on crimes involving drugs, violence and sexual assault, there is still a need to protect our wildlife. Our Rural Crime Team, while small, is committed to ensuring that we are doing all we can to look after the natural world around us.”
Detective Inspector Mark Harrison, from the National Wildlife Crime Unit, said: “The taking, possessing, and trading of wild bird eggs is illegal and overall, it is believed that these crimes are less common than they were.
“However, clearly it still goes on and as the overall number of birds is declining it can be argued that this crime has an even greater impact now than it did years ago. These criminals are very well organised and connected. The rarer a species is, the higher its demand and value to these criminals.
More eggs seized by police
(Image: Gloucestershire Police)
“Policing is under pressure now with competing demands and priorities. In amongst that work, it is important that we can still take action to protect our wildlife. I can`t thank the police officers, staff, and partners enough for their help and support during this operation. The investigation is ongoing and there is more work to do but this sends out a strong message to all wildlife criminals.”