Operation Easter

Egg hunting is a fun part of Easter. But egg hunting real birds' eggs can land a person in prison. Did you know that the there is an ongoing nationwide police initiative in the United Kingdom called "Operation Easter?" The program, created in 1997 tracks wildlife crimes, specifically egg collecting, which can be illegal if the animals are endangered. Operation Easter is headquartered an hour north of London and run by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB). RSPB was created by women in 1889, when they were not allowed to join the British Ornithologists' Union.

Because Britain doesn't have a central government agency to enforce wildlife crimes, the RSPB is important to preventing "bird crimes." Operation Easter makes up 25% of their work. They "crack down" on egg collecting. RSPB has found that the egg collectors still working aren't "interested in selling or even trading eggs, only in possessing them." One egg collector had thirty-six hundred eggs in his house when he was busted. Egg collectors describe both desiring the beauty of the eggs and also the "fieldcraft" needed to safely collect eggs.

RSPB and Operation Easter help prosecutors find the evidence needed to prosecute egg collectors. In some cases. egg collectors are banned from certain countries during a bird's breeding season. Some collectors are fined or face time in prison.

This Easter, stick to collecting plastic eggs maybe!

Find out more using our TexShare databases: Rubinstein, Julian. 2013. “Operation Easter.” New Yorker 89 (21): 52–61.