Sponsored by
Taxidermist was flouting the rules
Peregrine
A TAXIDERMIST has been sent to jail after pleading guilty to 13 offences involving the illegal trade of endangered wildlife.
Greg Turner, 32, was sentenced to eight months in prison when he went before Luton Crown Court on Friday (February 10).
Turner, of St Peters Court off Astwood Close in Potton, was investigated by Bedfordshire Police and the National Wildlife Crime Unit (NWCU) in conjunction with the Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratory Service (AHVLA).
When officers raided his home in September 2009 they discovered a number of taxidermy specimens of European birds of prey and owls along with forged paperwork and a computer.
Examination of the computer showed that Turner was copying official documents and had used the forgeries to sell well over 100 specimens without authority to buyers in the UK, Europe and as far away as the USA and Canada.
All European birds of prey and owls are given the highest level of protection in trade due to their vulnerability from persecution.
Each specimen for sale has to be given a permit by AHVLA to ensure that illegally taken wild birds are not filtered into trade as captive bred or road casualties. It was impossible to tell the origins of dozens of Turner’s birds.
The birds Turner admitted to selling included a goshawk, a kestrel, five barn owls, and a hawk owl.
The birds seized from Turner’s house included a red kite, a marsh harrier, a red footed falcon and a peregrine falcon as well as five species of owl. These have been forfeited.
Turner pleaded guilty to 12 charges of selling endangered species under regulation eight of the Control of Trade in Endangered Species (Enforcement) Regulations 1997 and one charge of having items in his possession for use in connection with fraud under section six of the Fraud Act 2006.
Alan Roberts of the NWCU said: “This conviction reflects Turner’s blatant flouting of regulations set in place to protect some of our most vulnerable birds for his gain.”
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Biggleswade
Friday 25 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 11 C to 24 C
Wind Speed: 21 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 11 C to 22 C
Wind Speed: 20 mph
Wind direction: East
Your view
Please sign in to be able to comment on this story.