…and will no doubt come out of jail in six months (three with good behaviour) and start all over again. Six months for effectively killing chicks of rare birds seems rather pathetic, doesn’t it. Surely it’s time that the law was changed to reflect the seriousness of the damage these obsessives cause?
RSPB website, Tuesday 13 December, 2011:
Matthew Gonshaw (49) of Cherrywood Close, Bow in East London, has extended his infamy for being Britain’s most imprisoned egg collector by being sentenced to yet another jail term, for six months, following conviction for stealing and possessing wild birds eggs, including those of some of the rarest and most threatened birds in the UK.
Gonshaw, who has already been jailed on three previous occasions for similar offences, pleaded guilty at Thames Magistrates Court earlier today to 10 charges.
Gonshaw’s home in East London was raided by officers from the Metropolitan Police and RSPB Investigations unit on 2 June this year. Nearly 700 eggs were found at the premises.
Full story at http://www.rspb.org.uk/news/299683-bird-again-for-britains-most-imprisoned-egg-collector
