Staff at Heathrow Airport in London discovered something strange one summer's day in 2018: a man wearing a large coat with 19 large bird eggs strapped to his body.
He was trying to smuggle the eggs, two of which had already hatched, into the country to sell on the black market for up to $10,000 apiece, Rare Bird Alert reported.
What's happening?
The man's name is Jeffrey Lendrum, and last month, he was sentenced to over three years in jail for the attempted smuggling of fish eagle, vulture, and kestrel eggs out of South Africa. Several of the species found on him were endangered species, Rare Bird Alert explained.
But get this — it's not even his first time. According to the outlet, he was also sentenced to two-and-a-half years of jail time for trying to bring Welsh Peregrine eggs from the U.K. to the Middle East in 2010 and was found guilty of stealing falcon eggs from Canada in 2002 and from Zimbabwe as far back as 1984.
The serial egg thief has been around the block, to say the least, and has likely profited off of this kind of poaching and smuggling in the past without getting caught.
Why is catching animal thieves important?
This story is certainly a wild one and does have a comedic element, but unfortunately, smuggling endangered wildlife is no laughing matter.
Thousands of animals are captured and killed every year by people like Lendrum. Common victims are elephants, tigers, pangolins, chimpanzees, sharks, sea turtles, macaws, and rhinos, all targeted usually for just one part of their body that humans eat or turn into a product. Likewise, rare trees, plants, and flowers are also mined all over the world, according to the Rainforest Trust.
These illegal practices directly harm the targeted species and their offspring. Endangered wildlife already struggles with human-caused stress in their habitats, and poaching their young further decreases their ability to survive another generation.
Plus, when species go extinct, entire ecosystems suffer the consequences. The scales of biodiversity that keep our planet healthy can tip, triggering a domino effect that also reaches human life.
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Heck yes 👍 What's being done about poaching and smuggling?
Thankfully, there are trained experts monitoring transit hubs to catch people like Lendrum in the act.
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In his case, specialists identified the stolen eggs to be protected by legislation that controls imports into the U.K. of more than 35,000 animals and plants. These officers were able to care for the eggs and live chicks once they were confiscated from Lendrum and eventually got them into the safe hands of the International Centre for Birds of Prey.
"This case sends a clear message that we are determined to bring cases like this before the courts," said Chris Hill, National Crime Agency investigations manager at Heathrow, per Rare Bird Alert.
Want to fight back against poachers and smugglers? Supporting animal sanctuaries like the ICBP and other habitat conservation groups like the Rainforest Trust is a great way to start.
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