The little-known wildlife crimes that can get you arrested
Today is the third time Daniel Lingham, 71, has been sentenced for stealing thousands of wild bird eggs from near his Norfolk home. Other wildlife crimes include badger 'baiting', removing bats from their roosts, and swiping rare mussels from rivers.
Friday 3 May 2024 13:48, UK
Did you know stealing a wild bird egg is a criminal offence?
"Possessing an egg (or its parts) of a wild bird" is illegal under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.
Today Daniel Lingham, 71, has avoided an immediate prison sentence despite stealing thousands of them - after he was previously jailed twice for similar offences.
He was caught on a wildlife trap camera at Holt Lowes nature reserve in Norfolk in June 2023 before a police raid of his home the following month revealed he had taken almost 3,000.
Alongside crimes against birds, their nests, or eggs, other wildlife crimes include badger 'baiting', damaging bat roosts, over-fishing, and removing rare mussels from rivers.
But despite several laws making wildlife exploitation in its various forms illegal, prosecutions often fail, there are few sentencing guidelines, and no national database of crimes committed.
Meanwhile, experts argue, wildlife is killed or injured, damage is done to our environment and economy, and potential warning signs of more serious crimes are missed.
So what is wildlife crime - and why do cases collapse?
Most crimes against wild animals, birds, and plants come under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, but there are also more species-specific laws such as the Protection of Badgers Act 1992, Hunting Act 2004, and Wild Mammals (Protection) Act 1996.
Separate legislation deals with animal cruelty, with the RSCPA often pursuing its own private prosecutions for those cases.
The recent passing of the Animal Welfare (Sentencing) Act 2021 increased maximum prison sentences from six months to five years, resulting in a number of high-profile cases since.
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Most police forces have a dedicated wildlife crime officer with specialist training, but scarce resources mean they often lean on the National Wildlife Crime Unit and specialist voluntary organisations for help with investigations.
Wildlife crimes are 'non-notifiable', which means forces are not obliged to record them for statistical purposes, as they are for most other offences.
The government says this is because they "often take place far from human eyes in remote locations", which makes it difficult to identify suspects and gather enough evidence for prosecution.
Wildlife Countryside Link, a coalition of 83 environmental organisations, has a wildlife crime working group. Matt Browne is its head of policy and advocacy.
He says without a national database, patterns in offending are near impossible to spot, making it harder to prevent crimes from happening.
"Cases also seem to run into problems at the prosecution stage," Mr Browne tells Sky News. "It's a very specific type of crime and if you're not experienced you can trip up very quickly.
"It happens again and again that people are prosecuted for say, a breach of the Hunting Act, and tend to be fairly well off so bring in top-level barristers… they're up against a junior prosecutor who has been put on the case the week before and it collapses."
An RSPB report showed that prosecution rates for crimes against birds and other wildlife were lower than 4% in 2022.
Cases can sometimes fail because of outside political pressure, he adds.
In 2022 Conservative MP Chris Loder said police should not have investigated the suspicious death of a white-tailed eagle in his West Dorset constituency and police took no further action.
Mr Browne adds that with a lack of clear sentencing guidelines, magistrates often err on the side of caution, making prison terms "extremely unlikely".
The most common crimes
The most common wildlife crimes are committed when illegal developments kill or displace protected species like bats and birds, Mr Browne says.
Breaches of the Freshwater Fisheries Act 1975 are also among the most common, he adds, which include fishing without a licence or poaching fish beyond designated quotas.
And despite the hunting ban, breaches continue on a "very regular basis in a very blatant manner", Mr Browne says.
"Hunts get away with it simply because of the financial resources they're able to bring against prosecution."
There is also seasonal variation in offending, RSPCA wildlife coordinator Inspector Geoff Edmund tells Sky News.
During spring, birds are often injured or killed when hedges are damaged. Bats also come out of hibernation around this time to find the roofs they've roosted in damaged, he says.
Meanwhile, summer and longer days bring an annual increase in animal cruelty cases against badgers and foxes.
Not a victimless crime
Wildlife crimes are "often seen as victimless", which leads to a "lesser perception of harm and underreporting", according to a 2023 report by Nottingham Trent University and the International Fund for Animal Welfare.
But the study also found that 95% of experts surveyed had experienced wildlife crime being linked to theft, while almost a third (32%) had encountered links with sex crimes.
Mr Browne says: "If you get pleasure from baiting a badger, you're unlikely to stop at wild animals, and may go on to hurt humans or property."
Beyond animal cruelty, damage to wildlife adds to food and water insecurity, he adds.
"If nature continues to erode there's a wider damage for society. It's not just 'oh there are few pretty birds to look at'. It will affect the very fundamentals of our economy, farming, and clean water supply."
And with 30% of English wild animals in decline, and one in eight threatened with extinction, further loss of species will accelerate climate change, he warns.
"Even if you don't like nature - there are the real consequences of living a more insecure life," he says.
Wildlife Countryside Link and other campaigning groups are calling for legal reform and better training for police forces and prosecutors to deter criminals and help identify repeat offenders.
Sky News has contacted the Crown Prosecution Service and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) for comment.
What motivates a prolific egg thief?
Returning to the case of Daniel Lingham, Mr Browne describes his repeated offending as "absolutely shocking" and a "good example of a selfish obsession taking away from nature and the local community".
The RSPB has said his actions mean "thousands of breeding birds, which have invested huge amounts of energy into rearing young" will have failed to do so - putting the wider population at risk.
While much wildlife crime is driven by money, so-called 'kleptomania' is a complex impulse-control disorder that often serves no financial benefit to the sufferer - and causes them much additional strain.
"The individual knows what they do is wrong, socially unacceptable, likely to make them more isolated, and is likely to lead to complications and legal troubles if not ceased, yet they feel powerless to stop it," says Professor Craig Jackson, professor of occupational health psychology at Birmingham City University.
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He describes it as a "miserable roller-coaster-like experience of extreme highs and lows, anxiety and relief, accomplishment and shame".
Potential biological causes are not fully understood, but among the possibilities are reduced levels of serotonin, an addiction to the 'rush' of dopamine to the brain when stealing, and pre-existing injuries to the brain's limbic system, which regulates emotion and behaviour.
Evidence has shown many 'kleptomaniacs' suffer from other mental health disorders, which can make stealing a "distraction and relief from other issues in people's lives they cannot control or manage", Professor Jackson adds.
The professor continues: "Whatever the causes, any learned behaviour that makes an individual feel 'better' without having any immediate negative consequences will be repeated again and again.
"Impulse control disorders are very illogical, bring little pleasure or long-term relief and are often gateways to other problems."