Serial bird egg thief jailed
Inverness Sheriff Court has sentenced Matthew Gonshaw, 49, of London to six months in prison and ordered a lifetime ban preventing him from entering Scotland during the bird breeding season after multiple thefts of rare bird eggs. Mr Gonshaw has been jailed for similar offences previously and police have described his collection of such eggs as an "obsession".
Upon being searched by police in May 2011, Mr Gonshaw was found to be in the possession of 20 eggs from various species including the Meadow pipit and the Manx shearwater. During a search of his home, Mr Gonshaw's collection was found to include more than 700 rare eggs from endangered species including ospreys (pictured), golden eagles and the black-tailed godwit (of which there are believed to be fewer than 40 breeding pairs remaining). Some had previously contained live chicks.
Commenting, the Head of Scotland's Wildlife and Environmental Crime Unit at the Crown Office Craig Harris said "Our wildlife is part of our national character. It improves our quality of life, underpins many livelihoods and supports the growing nature tourism industry. Wildlife crime is a blatant attack against all of these benefits."
