Cleethorpes, England - (UPI) - A British man who collected more than 7,700 eggs of legally protected birds has been sentenced to 23 weeks in jail.

Richard Pearson pleaded guilty to possessing 653 eggs classified Schedule One, a category representing the rarest birds with the strongest protections under Wildlife and Countryside Act, and possessing 6,477 other protected eggs.

Prosecutors said the defendant collected many of the rare eggs from their nests. District Judge Richard Blake said during sentencing that Pearson had executed a "carefully organized, evil campaign against wildlife."

"The message must go out that the perverted activity of people like you, who seize eggs to satisfy their lust for them, will not be tolerated," the judge said. "People like you threaten the fragile heritage of this island, not just for now but for future generations, by preying on birds -- and the very rarest of birds."
go

Lock him up longer than that. He has no right to go around stealing the eggs of birds. Egg collectors are a******s.

Mmm...can't really comment on this and remain polite

Only 23 weeks!!!!!!! Should have been 23 years. Where is the justice??? Not in England for the birds he murdered for his freaking collection.

Would that make him an egg poacher or a poached egger?

What a birdbrain this guy is

Well, the most polite thing I would have to say to him is "Don't drop the soap."

Seriously though, I hope he rots.

Too right, I hate these freaks, you wanna collect eggs?
Go down to the supermarket... they've got loads there, knock yerself out.

Yeah!!! Princess Fiona should be sentenced and stripped of her title for killing an exotic bird with song and cooking its eggs. Shrek and Donkey deserve jail time as her accomplice for feasting on the eggs.

You guys are harsh!

I'd like it to be longer, but as wildlife laws go, the UK has some of the most stringent and severe in the world.

More than 300 new crimes have been committed by prisoners freed early
Burglars and muggers will be let off with community work in a move that could spell the end of short jail sentences.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/arti...in_page_id=1770

ABH - 9.6 months average
Assault - 2.9 months average
Possession with intent to supply Class A drugs - 7.3 months average

http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/c.../60720w1849.htm


When you look at the sentence length for other crimes, the 23 weeks comes into perspective, whether I, you etc... agree or not.

Isn't manslaughter about 5 years?

Ah the Daily Mail, the bastion of fascism that it is. It was the UK's only pro-nazi paper. Btw contrary to the hate mails opinion the is substantial evidence that shows that jail is not the best form of rehabilition and longer sentences do not lead to lower levels of reoffending.

But what does this have to do with stealing eggs and going to jail for it?

With the number of posts saying 23 weeks was by far too short a stretch for the crime, I wanted to highlight was would be considered socially more damaging crimes and their respective sentences.

i.e. by placing the poacher in jail for 2 years, this would be considered more damaging than GBH.

Can't justify placing a poacher in jail for a long period if other crimes are dealt with more leniently (sp?)

hell yeah or a year for every egg!!