illicit-trade-wco-2013

ENVIRONMENT
Madagascar. The egg in question is of the elephant bird
which became extinct in Madagascar approximately
400 years ago. The export of these eggs from
Madagascar is strictly forbidden by the country’s legislation.
The investigation has found that the suspect collected
the eggs of protected birds from their natural
environment for several years when birds were
hatching and emptied the eggs whose contents ranged
from early-stage embryos to more developed chicks.
The eggs were collected in Finland, Sweden, Norway,
Iceland, Estonia and the United States. The activity of
the suspect was at its busiest in 2009, and the last time
he collected eggs was in 2011 just before he was
caught. In Finland, the suspect collected bird nests in
various locations including nature reserves.
The investigation has revealed that the suspect took
some of the eggs to similar collectors in Sweden and
imported collections of bird egg clutches and individual
egg clutches bought from collectors in Sweden and
other countries.
The activity had been sustained for years, which requires
extensive skills. The suspect did not have a permit
from any authority to collect, possess, import or export
bird eggs. Moreover, he did not have a permit to
receive or possess protected birds or other animals or
their parts or derivatives.
Some of the concerned bird species are subject to
CITES legislation, and some of them are protected by
the Finnish Nature Conservation Act. As the activity of
the suspect has obviously been illegal, all animal
species removed from their natural environment as
well as their derivatives will be subscribed indemnity
values based on the decision by the Finnish Ministry
of the Environment. These advisory indemnity values
are meant to compensate the damage caused to the
natural environment through the criminal offence. The
bird eggs seized from the suspect total a final indemnity
value of around EUR 600,000. The indemnity system
used in Finland is exceptional in the global context,
and has attracted a great deal of attention in the
countries cooperating in the investigation.
Some of the birds found in the suspect’s freezer were
sent to Evira (the Finnish Food Safety Authority) for
examination. According to statements from Evira,
some of the birds had been killed by shooting.
The international examination into the legal status of
the Aepyornis maximus egg is still underway. The egg
was imported in breach of tax regulations, as VAT
should have been paid for it as regards its trade price
and freight. In this respect, Finnish Customs is considering
the imposition of taxes in the matter.
In September 2012, Customs seized about 700 bird
eggs from the possession of a man living in the
Uusimaa region in connection with the investigation. In
addition, a few stuffed birds were seized. It became
apparent in the preliminary investigation that the man
in question had stuffed and sold a few dozen birds of
protected species. For this investigation, the indemnity
prices set by the Ministry of the Environment amounts
to approximately EUR 100,000.
This suspected criminal case is exceptional in Finland
and noteworthy within Europe. The case uncovered in
Finland is a part of trans-national crime which can be
traced to the United Kingdom and extended to Sweden
and Finland.
Consideration of charges in the matter took place in
2013. The legal proceedings will be highly interesting in
many respects because there is no precedent of a case
of similar scale in Finland, and because it concerns
extensive legislation and the operations of various
authorities. The diversity of expert statements alone
says a lot about the case, as statements have been
requested from the Finnish Environment Institute, the
Finnish Wildlife Agency, the Centre for Economic
Development, Transport and the Environment for South
Ostrobothnia, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry,
the Ministry of the Environment, Evira and the
University of Helsinki, to name a few parties.
An efficient preliminary investigation is greatly hindered
by the fact an aggravated type of commission is
not provided for by legislation as regards nature conservation
offences. The criminal case in question has
also been introduced to the incumbent Minister of
Justice, and it remains to be seen if any necessary
changes will be made to the legislation on environmental
protection and crime.
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ILLICIT TRADE REPORT 2013