A middle-aged man in Rogaland, western Norway, had been indicted for possession of more than 7,000 bird eggs, many of them from 98 protected bird species. Police are calling it a serious case of environmental crime.
“Fortunately it’s not common that we handle such cases,” prosecutor Øyvind Bore of Norway’s Southwest Police District told state broadcaster NRK on Monday. The man in his 50s is charged with having received, given away, sold or advertised wild bird eggs.
Police ransacked his home after tips from colleagues in Trøndelag who had also uncovered large collections of bird eggs. “We received information that there was reason for suspicion in our district, too,” Bore said.
Kjetil Aadne Solbakken, secretary general of the national organization Birdlife Norge, said he hopes everyone who collects bird eggs as a hobby “finds something else to do with their time. This damages the nature, and a bird egg represents a bird that’s not allowed to hatch.” Collecting eggs is illegal in Norway: Earlier this year a man in his 80s was sentenced to five months in jail and fined NOK 300,000 after he was found guilty of buying and selling bird eggs.
NewsinEnglish.no staff
