In a major sting, UK authorities have seized over 6,000 wild bird eggs. It is the largest haul of stolen eggs in the nation’s history. The hidden eggs were found in attics, offices, and drawers during coordinated raids across Scotland, South Yorkshire, Essex, Wales, and Gloucestershire.
These raids are part of Operation Pulka, an international initiative launched in 2023 to combat the illegal trade in wild birds’ eggs. The operation began in Norway, where authorities seized more than 50,000 eggs and arrested 16 individuals. In Australia, approximately 3,500 eggs were confiscated, including some belonging to critically endangered species.
Egg collecting, or oology, was a popular hobby in the UK during the Victorian era. Its ongoing popularity had damaged bird populations to the point that the UK criminalized the practice with the 1954 Protection of Birds Act.
Then came the even stronger Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, which calls for the protection of all wild birds, their nests, and eggs. Despite this, the illegal trade persists, especially for rare and exotic eggs. The National Wildlife Crime Unit (NWCU), which is leading Operation Pulka, believes the trade in wild bird eggs “has an even greater impact now.”
Staggering prices
Rare eggs can fetch a staggering price. The 3,500 eggs seized in Australia are worth over $300,000 on the black market.
“These criminals are very well organized and connected,” explained Mark Harrison of the NWCU. “The rarer a species is, the higher its demand and value to these criminals.”
The success of Operation Pulka, unfortunately, also reveals the size of the illegal trade.
“The scale of this operation is alarming,” Dominic Meeks from the University of Cambridge told The Guardian. “Previous seizures have been the product of singular obsessive individuals. The complexity of this operation appears to be far greater.”
White-phase gyrfalcon. Photo: Shutterstock
A worldwide problem
To many, the idea of a flourishing illegal egg trade is a little bizarre. But egg poaching is not as rare as you would expect. Decades ago, Lear jets from the Middle East regularly landed in Iqaluit on Baffin Island, Canada, to transport stolen gyrfalcon eggs to wealthy falconers. These eastern Arctic gyrfalcons were especially coveted for their pure white plumage, in contrast with the greyish tones of their western counterparts.
Then in 2002, two men pretending to be nature photographers were apprehended with falcon eggs in Kuujjuaq, Quebec. They were trying to smuggle them into Dubai. One falcon egg was worth $30,000 in the Middle East.
Cape Vultures. Photo: Shutterstock
In 2019, prolific egg smuggler Jeffrey Lendrum was caught at Heathrow Airport with a dozen eggs from endangered species. He even had two hatched Cape vulture chicks, worth $110,000, hidden in woolen socks. It was his fifth arrest.
Experts will now analyze the eggs from the most recent raids to decipher which species they belong to.
