Rare egg collector jailed

CLEETHORPES, England, April 1 (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, the Daily Mail reported Tuesday.

Pearson told the court many of the eggs were given to him by a fellow collector, but prosecutors said the defendant collected many of the rare eggs from their nests, the British newspaper said.

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."