Wild Bird Eggs and the Law

Since September 1982, when the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 was introduced in law, it has been against the law even to possess the egg of any wild bird.

However, there is possession defence under the Wildlife and Countryside Act if a ‘person can show that the egg was in any person’s possession or control before 28 September 1982’ or if a person ‘can show that an egg had not been taken, or had either been taken or lawfully sold to himself or another’. In other words, the collection pre dates the legislation. The key word is ‘show’ which means ‘prove’ – the burden of proof falls on the seller and NOT the police to prove when the eggs were taken.

Proving ‘provenance’ is difficult though, and any eggs must be extremely well-documented – an ‘old’ label is not enough.

No. It is an offence to sell the eggs of wild birds of any age.

In other words it is an offence for a person to do any of the following:

• sell, offer or expose for sale, or have in their possession or transport for the purpose of sale, an egg of a wild bird or any part of such an egg;
• publishes or causes to be published any advertisement likely to be understood as conveying that they buy or sell, or intend to buy or sell, an egg of a wild bird or any part of such an egg.

A purchaser of the egg of a wild bird will also almost always be committing an offence.

It is an offence to sell or trade the eggs of wild birds no matter how they are labelled or how old they are. Any sale is unlawful.

The advice therefore is to contact:

• The website where the sale is taking place and advise them an offence is being committed;
• Phone the RSPB on 01767 693690 and explain you wish to report the sale of wild bird eggs;
• Inform the police.

The advice is that the eggs should be destroyed as we could end up in court for having them.

In reality that’s probably unlikely, especially if we have a collection which definitely and provably predates the Wildlife and Countryside Act.

There is defence under the Wildlife and Countryside Act if a ‘person can show that the egg was in any person’s possession or control before 28 September 1982’ or if a person ‘can show that an egg had not been taken, or had either been taken or lawfully sold to himself or another’.

In 2016 a government consultation looked at this so-called ‘pre-1981 defence‘ to make sure it wasn’t encouraging egg collectors and concluded that it did not.

But do remember that when it comes to court cases involving wild bird eggs we need to show – or prove – that the eggs are being held legally.

• In other words, the burden of proof still lies with us and not the prosecuting authorities who merely have to prove that we are in possession of bird eggs.

For most individuals proving that they have eggs of wild birds in their possession legally may simply not be possible.

NB: It is illegal to sell those eggs under any circumstances.

While it is not an offence to own a collection of wild bird eggs providing the owner can prove definitively that the eggs were taken before 1981 it is unlawful to trade or sell them no matter how old they are. If someone is willed or given an egg collection, therefore, the usual advice is that the eggs should be destroyed.

But what does ‘destroy’ actually mean, and is it even lawful to do so?

It is unlawful to destroy a ‘live’ egg, but old eggs are not live: old eggs will have had their yolk and albumen ‘blown’ (removed from the shell) therefore they can be destroyed. Because there are still people who want to collect eggs (and may use a collection of old eggs to ‘mask’ recently stolen ones) ‘destroying’ an egg simply means making it uncollectable, breaking it up or crushing it into pieces so that it is of no interest to egg collectors and has no residual value. Old ‘blown’ eggs are nothing more than empty shells so don’t carry a biohazard risk and can be safely put into household waste, though to be on the safe side it is better to wrap them securely in a bag or container before doing so.

Alternatively, egg shells are almost entirely made of calcium carbonate (CaCO3). Calcium is an essential plant nutrient and moderates soil acidity, so egg shells are an ideal supplement and feed for outdoor flowers, vegetables and fruit trees in a garden.

If a nest is damaged or abandoned but contains eggs even if there is no chance that the eggs will hatch we still can’t ‘collect’ and keep them.

The eggs may be required as evidence in a police case of course, but even if not it is still illegal to have them in our possession. In fact, it has been illegal to take the eggs of most wild birds since the Protection of Birds Act 1954.

That may seem like overkill, but the law was designed to protect eggs from egg thieves.

The law was tightened again via the 1981 Wildlife And Countryside Act to stop egg thieves selling stolen eggs by claiming they were ‘old’ or collected by someone else

The Wildlife & Countryside Act does not cover so-called ‘gamebirds’ including pheasants and Red-legged Partridge as these are not considered ‘wild birds’ for all of their lives.

The law (which in parts is heavily biased around hunting and shooting interests) suggests that birds purchased and reared on land will ‘be the property of the breeder or landowner’. Once they are released into the wild to be shot, they become wild birds and remain the property of the landowner only while they remain on the landowner’s land.

Presumably any eggs laid by birds that survive the ‘shooting season’ and laid the following spring in the countryside become the eggs of wild birds and subject to the same laws? We will update this information when we find out!

Operation Easter is a nationwide effort to tackle the theft of birds eggs. It was developed in Scotland around the turn of the century, and is now facilitated by the National Wildlife Crime Unit in conjunction with UK police forces and partner agencies.

The operation targets egg thieves by sharing intelligence across the UK to support enforcement action, and is promoted across national media every April. Forces used the slogan ‘No more empty nests this Easter’ in 2023.

In recent years the operation has also been expanded to cover some emerging trends of criminal behaviour such as the online trade in eggs and the disturbance of nests for photography.

 In 2018 the RSPB estimated there were still around 20 active adult egg thieves in the UK.

That might not sound like very many (especially when as recently as the 1950s many children collected bird eggs), but obsessive egg collectors build up collections of thousands of stolen eggs and focus on rare or very scarce species – often returning to the same nest when a bird has laid a second clutch to take those eggs too.

While it’s easy to think we could recognise an egg thief because they are ‘always’ white, shabby, middle-aged males carrying binoculars and a bag to keep collected eggs in, that’s not really the case.

While egg thieves are almost invariably male, it is their behaviour that gives them away.

• While most active when birds are nesting, egg thieves will repeatedly ‘scope out’ an area checking when territories start to be occupied or when male birds start displaying or singing again. Not everyone doing this is an egg thief of course (they could simply be a keen birder), but if we know that rare or scarce birds nest or have previously nested in an area, keep a look out for individuals carrying binoculars etc that we don’t recognise – especially if they are making repeat visits to the same site – and keep an eye on them.

• If we see anyone acting suspiciously – looking around to check if they’re being watched, searching in bushes or on the ground perhaps, or wading out to islands used by nesting birds (especially in the spring and summer during unsociable hours when few people are around) – they could be steak=ling eggs.

• If we are asked about whether a rare species is nesting or has started nesting yet, we should be immediately be on our guard. Egg thieves typically carry much the same equipment as birders (optics, a field guide, a rucksack etc) but as ‘egg collecting’ has become more widely reported most birders will NEVER discuss nest locations.

• Egg thieves are not typically violent but don’t approach anyone committing any wildlife crime unless it is clearly safe to do so. The eggs of birds like Peregrines may be being stolen to order by a gang or syndicate for export to overseas falconry markets and they may be aggressive if approached.

• It is legal to photograph a car or registration plate when we think that the vehicle may be used in a crime. The police and investigators may well have a record of a vehicle that has been used by an egg thief in the past, so that information alone can be very important.

• Stealing the eggs of wild birds is a crime. If we are suspicious that we’re seeing egg thieving taking place ring the police on 999. If we have historic information call them on 101.

• We can also contact RSPB Wildlife Enquiries on 01767 693690. To contact RSPB Investigations directly use the online reporting form or email crime@rspb.org.uk. They will always try to help but have no enforcement powers and will refer the matter to the police for investigation if they think a prosecution is warranted.

Note that egg thieves scour social media. If we post locations or even sightings of rare species that may potentially breed the thieves will notice. Never post the location of a nest, and never respond to anyone you don’t know asking for more details.

Wildlife crime is defined as any action which contravenes current legislation governing the protection of the UK’s wild flora and fauna, including species traded in the UK.

Note that wildlife crime does NOT include:

• Incidents involving domestic or companion animals such as dogs (other than dogs being used to hunt mammals), cats, rabbits, domesticated birds, etc.

• Wild animals that have been involved (killed or injured etc) in road traffic accidents.

Road accidents with wild animals do not need to be reported to the police, but note that domestic animals (as well as goats, horses, cattle, asses, mules, sheep and pigs) come within the remit of the Road Traffic Act.
If you have a road accident involving these animals you are required by law to report it to the police. If the wild animal is so badly injured in a road accident that there is no chance of recovery or the animal can not be returned to the wild then he or she may be euthanised, providing there is no appropriate long-term captive or semi-captive accommodation or when treatment would involve undue suffering or distress.

If we come across a wildlife crime scene or a dead bird/object that may be related to a wildlife crime every piece of information is – or might be – important, but it needs to be recorded properly and accurately for the authorities to have a chance of prosecuting an offender.

• Before we do anything else it is very important that we do NOT approach anyone we suspect of committing a crime – they may be violent and/or aggressive. This is especially true of badger baiters and hare coursers who are typically extremely violent. This must be a first priority!

 If we see a wildlife crime taking place (or someone is at risk of getting injured or is being threatened) call 999 immediately.

They will want to know what we can see happening:

• What sort of crime is being committed
• Are any firearms involved
• Could we or the public be in danger

To report a historic crime – that is, a crime that is no longer taking place – use 101 or a local organisation instead.

• If calling the police ask to speak to a Wildlife Crime Officer and make sure to get an Incident Report number.
• Please always follow any advice given and – if they are not available – insist that a Wildlife Crime Officer is made aware of your report.
•  Our options are wider if the event is over, and it may be preferable to talk first to a charity or NGO to get advice. Crimestoppers (an independent charity) can be contacted in complete confidence on 0800 555 111
• When thinking about reporting a crime it’s worth noting that only the police have statutory powers to make an arrest. RSPCA and RSPB investigation officers work with the police for successful prosecutions.

• For offences involving wild birds and their nests or eggs we can also contact RSPB Wildlife Enquiries on 01767 693690. To contact RSPB Investigations directly use the online reporting form or email crime@rspb.org.uk. They will always try to help but have no enforcement powers and will refer the matter to the police for investigation if they think a prosecution is warranted.

Reporting a wildlife crime (or even a suspected wildlife crime) is important for two reasons.

• If the event is still happening it may enable the authorities to catch the criminals ‘in the act’ (which means a higher chance of prosecution),
• and if the event is over a report can still help to build up a more accurate picture of what might be happening in a specific location or across the country as a whole.

Our help is always welcomed

• Whoever we decide to contact we have been assured that our help is welcomed and that if we’re in any doubt that what we’re seeing is a crime we should report it anyway. Remember, if what we see ‘feels’ wrong, it probably is!

• Even if we’re not sure about what we’re seeing, we can take a photograph and email it to the police or an investigations officer – they are trained to quickly recognise for example when a snare is illegally placed, whether a trap is being used illegally, or whether a crime is being committed or not.
• We may help stop or solve future crimes by helping build up a pattern of behaviour in an area.