When you think of raids and the items seized during them, you probably assume they involve drugs or firearms. But what about illegal wild bird eggs?
Believe it or not, that’s what just happened in the United Kingdom. The largest haul of illicit wild birds’ eggs was collected. According to The Guardian, up to 6,000 eggs were confiscated in the seizure across Scotland, South Yorkshire, Essex, Wales, and Gloucester. This was part of a larger project, Operation Pulka, which has made similar discoveries in Norway, where 50,000 illegal eggs were spotted, and another 3,500 in Australia.
I’ll admit it. I never really heard about the black market for eggs before this story. In 1954, the UK made this a criminal act to combat historians and rich people hoarding rare eggs for their trophy cases, which has resulted in the extinction of various animals over the years. Then came the 1981 Wildlife and Countryside Act, which placed all wild bird eggs under one protective umbrella.
Massive Wild Egg Raid Carried Out in the UK
My next thought is: what the going rate is for one of these eggs? Prices for live eggs have risen as high as $100,000 for a batch. A rare owl went for $490. So these prices definitely vary. I have many more questions about this illegal activity. Is there an eBay equivalent for this on the dark web? How do you even get into this business? According to TRAFFIC, a 2016 study suggested that illegal wildlife trade was a $23 billion market.
Anyway, experts will take the foreseeable months to go through the largest ever UK raid to determine the species and the money total. A representative from the University of Cambridge, Dominic Meeks, suggested that this isn’t just one or two bad apples in this particular UK raid but that it’s a “far greater” reach than they’ve seen before with “numerous actors operating in different countries.”
I’m sensing a Nicholas Cage-led movie in which he traverses Europe, navigating clues on the illegal wildlife trade kingpins that span multiple countries. I’d watch it.
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