Man pleads guilty to trading rare eggs

A MAN yesterday admitted keeping and trading the eggs of some of Europe’s rarest birds,

Keith Liddell pleaded guilty to 13 charges, 11 related to trading in eggs of protected or threatened species, including peregrine falcon, Egyptian vulture and lesser kestrel.

The 53-year-old from Inverness also admitted two charges of unlawful possession of 338 eggs, including a number of Scottish rare breeding birds, such as Slavonian grebe, black-throated diver, osprey and many others, at Inverness Sheriff Court. The court heard he kept the eggs hidden behind a bookcase in his loft.

Ian Thomson, head of investigations at RSPB Scotland said: “The illegal and outdated practice of egg collecting can have a devastating impact on the future population of vulnerable or slow breeding species, such as birds of prey and divers.”