A COUNTY Durham man was among 17 people prosecuted for involvement in the wild bird trade, it has been revealed.

His part was revealed as the RSPCA released CCTV footage showing men, who were meeting at a London pub to trade in illegally captured wild birds, trying to flee from police.

CCTV footage captures the moment officers from the Metropolitan Police Wildlife Crime Unit and RSPCA’s Special Operations Unit raided a pub to infiltrate a wild bird meet – in one of the biggest wild bird operations in the UK.

The Northern Echo:

They discovered 40 cages of wild birds, including goldfinches, linnets and siskin.

The final of 17 men prosecuted for their involvement in the wild bird trade was sentenced this week, following a two-year investigation by the RSPCA.

RSPCA officers joined teams from the Met to execute warrants across a number of properties on in February 2019, including one at a pub in Leytonstone, East London, where intelligence suggested bird enthusiasts were meeting to trade illegally in wild birds.

Seventeen men from Essex, London, Kent, County Durham, Hertfordshire and West Yorkshire have now appeared in court and been convicted and sentenced for offences in connection with the possession of wild birds.

The Northern Echo:

The RSPCA’s Special Operations worked with police to compile intelligence after receiving information that a large group of men were meeting at The Bell pub in Leytonstone on a Saturday morning to trade in wild birds.

The joint taskforce also executed three simultaneous warrants at three private addresses on the same day, finding multiple illegally-captured and kept wild birds including a collection of almost 200 wild birds at one man’s home.

The County Durham man was fined after pleading guilty to offences of illegally possessing wild birds at a hearing at Thames Magistrates’ Court, on 11 October 2019.

RSPCA SOU chief inspector Will Mitchell added: “The illegal trapping and trading in wild birds has long been a problem. Taking a wild bird from its natural habitat and shutting it in a tiny cage is cruel. These birds can suffer immeasurably, not only physically but also mentally, and they often die shortly after being captured.”

All of the wild birds were taken into care by the RSPCA - with more than 150 going to the charity’s Mallydams Wildlife Centre, in Hastings, East Sussex, where staff set about rehabilitating and releasing them. The crossbred birds and domestic species were successfully rehomed.

 

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