The Falcon Thief

Home > Other > The Falcon Thief > Page 28
The Falcon Thief Page 28

by Joshua Hammer


  “laughable”: Judge Paulo Marcos Rodrigues de Almeida, Federal Justice Court, judgment and sentence, Guarulhos, Brazil, December 14, 2015.

  “Let’s have coffee”: Tomei, interview, October 14.

  “During [downtime] in Itaí”: João Batista, Jr., “Os presos que vêm de fora: Torre de Babel carcerária guarda 1,443 detentos de 89 nacionalidades. Populacão nunca foi tão grande e não para de aumentar,” Veja (Brazil), August 6, 2011.

  “Sometimes not even”: “Information Pack for British Prisoners in Brazil,” British Embassy Brazil, July 21, 2015.

  “There was a danger”: Tomei, interview, October 14.

  “I had nothing but shit in Brazil”: Jeffrey Lendrum, phone interview by author, March 16, 2018.

  “contagious”: Michelle Conway, interview by author, London, January 9, 2019.

  “Then I saw an article”: Howard Waller, interview by author, Inverness, Scotland, January 23, 2018.

  “I knew that I was going to die”: Lendrum, phone interview, March 16.

  “Nobody was looking”: Tomei, interview, October 14.

  “Hey Rodrigo, I’m in”: Tomei, interview, October 14.

  “Ex-SAS Rare Egg”: Ben Hurst, “Ex-SAS Rare Egg Thief Who Tried to Smuggle Birds Through Birmingham Airport on the Run,” Birmingham News, January 6, 2017.

  “Britain’s Most Protected”: Abigail O’Leary, “Britain’s Most Protected Bird Under Threat From SAS-Trained Wildlife Hunter,” Daily Mirror, January 5, 2017.

  Chapter Seventeen: Gauteng

  “Andy McWilliam is telling”: Jeffrey Lendrum, phone interview by author, May 10, 2017.

  “manna from heaven”: Jeffery Lendrum, phone interview, May 10.

  “complete and utter rubbish”: Andy McWilliam, email to author, April 3, 2018.

  “She is very stressed”: Julia Dupree, email to author, December 3, 2017.

  “What f****** audacity!”: Pat Lorber, email to author, November 16, 2017.

  “You’re sworn to secrecy”: John Brebner, Black Eagle Project, interview by author, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, December 11, 2017.

  “That’s a fairly new”: Brebner, interview, December 11.

  “He’s got a very tough life”: Richard Lendrum, interview by author, Rosebank, South Africa, December 18, 2017.

  “We both love wildlife”: Richard Lendrum, interview, December 18.

  “Obviously, there are breeders”: Richard Lendrum, interview, December 18.

  “My short-term memory is failing”: Jeffrey Lendrum, phone interview by author, December 18, 2017.

  “You probably recognized”: Jeffrey Lendrum, interview by author, December 18, 2017.

  “He seems to be successful”: Bob Elliot, RSPB, interview, “Notorious Bird Egg Thief on the Run in Brazil,” BBC Today radio program, January 6, 2017.

  “The devil is in the details”: Jeffrey Lendrum, interview, December 18.

  “Things happen”: Jeffrey Lendrum, interview, December 18.

  “Do you want to steal”: Jeffrey Lendrum, interview, December 18.

  Epilogue

  “I’m at my son’s graduation”: Author’s notebook, June 24, 2018.

  “Call if you want”: Jeffrey Lendrum, email to author, June 24, 2018.

  “Rare Bird Eggs Importation”: “Rare Bird Eggs Importation Prevented by Border Force at Heathrow,” National Wildlife Crime Unit press release, June 28, 2018.

  “free medical care”: Craig Hunt, phone interview by author, January 20, 2019.

  “ Jeff is gentle as a lamb”: Michelle Conway, interview by author, London, January 9, 2019.

  “A couple of times”: Jeffrey Lendrum, testimony, The Queen v. Jeffrey Lendrum, Snaresbrook Crown Court, January 10, 2019.

  “South Africa was cutting”: Jeffrey Lendrum, testimony, The Queen v. Jeffrey Lendrum, January 10.

  “You are a convicted smuggler”: Sean Sullivan, prosecutor, cross-examination of Jeffrey Lendrum, The Queen v. Jeffrey Lendrum, January 9, 2019.

  “completely implausible”: Judge Neil Saunders, judgment, The Queen v. Jeffrey Lendrum, January 10, 2019.

  “rife”: “Pentonville Is ‘Crumbling and Rife with Vermin,’ ” BBC News, August 22, 2018.

  “There’s more hits”: Jeffrey Lendrum, testimony, The Queen v. Jeffrey Lendrum, January 9, 2019.

  “bad character”: Andy McWilliam, interview by author, Liverpool, January 11, 2019.

  “As long as you’re”: McWilliam, interview, January 11.

  “It’s out of our control”: McWilliam, interview, January 11.

  “I got twelve months’ probation”: Poached, directed by Timothy Wheeler (Ignite Channel, 2015), on-camera interview with John Kinsley.

  “reveals the issues”: Poached, on-camera interview with Kinsley.

  “I went round”: McWilliam, interview, January 11.

  “incorporated as a sacred sign”: H. P. Blavatsky, The Secret Doctrine (New York: Penguin, 2016; original edition published 1888), 265.

  “I think that if required”: Tim Birkhead, The Most Perfect Thing: Inside (and Outside) a Bird’s Egg (London: Bloomsbury, 2017), 15.

  “It’s like meeting”: McWilliam, interview, January 11.

  INDEX

  A note about the index: The pages referenced in this index refer to the page numbers in the print edition. Clicking on a page number will take you to the ebook location that corresponds to the beginning of that page in the print edition. For a comprehensive list of locations of any word or phrase, use your reading system’s search function.

  Abu Dhabi falcon racing, 39–40

  falconry in culture of, 37

  United Arab Emirates founding and, 135

  See also Gulf States; Gulf States falconry; United Arab Emirates

  Adelard of Bath, 131

  African black eagle author’s sighting of, 252–53

  egg smuggling, 89, 211

  Adrian and Jeffrey Lendrum egg raiding, 59, 86

  Matobo National Park survey, 51–54, 252

  African Black Eagle Survey (Matobo National Park), 51–54, 252

  African hawk eagle, 55, 61

  African Hunting Gazette, 226–28, 230–32

  AfricaXtreme, 119–23, 125–26, 199, 200

  Agriculture and Livestock Service (SAG) (Chile), 237, 240–41

  Algeria, 141

  Allen, Mark, 32, 132

  Altai-Sayan region, 15

  Anderson, David, 159

  animal cruelty investigations, 18, 104–5, 194–95

  animal rights movement, 105

  Arab falconry. See Gulf States falconry

  Arabian Sands (Thesiger), 138–39

  Asenjo, Rafael, 240–41

  Astbury, Keith, 263

  Audubon, John James, 165

  augur buzzard, 54, 55

  badger baiters, 8, 104

  Bahrain, 36–37

  Baker, J. A., 34–35

  bats, 188

  Beckett, Andy, 69

  Bedouins, 31–32, 139

  Bell, Tony, 264, 265

  Bendire, Charles, 98, 165–66

  Bennett, Andy, 36

  Benson, S. Vere, 76

  bird endangerment black market falcon trade and, 14–15

  insecticides/pesticides and, 10–12, 133, 273

  peregrine falcon CITES status, 12–13, 207

  See also wildlife protection regulations

  bird laundering, 9, 94, 154, 191–92

  BirdLife Zimbabwe, 84, 85, 86, 90, 219

  Birds Directive (1979) (Great Britain), 207

  Birkhead, Tim, 97–98, 100

  bizzuar (luggar falcon), 132

  Black Eagle, The (Gargett), 53–54

  black market falcon trade bird endangerment and, 14–15

  bird laundering, 9, 94, 154, 191–92

  falcon breeding and, 191–92

  Gulf States clients, 14, 42, 150

  McWilliam’s disgust with, 16, 17

  ongoing activity, 152–54

  Operation Falcon, 150–51<
br />
  See also egg smuggling; Lendrum’s egg smuggling operation

  black market rare-bird trade, 193–94 See also black market falcon trade

  black shaheen falcon, 209

  Blavatsky, Helena, 274

  Bokmakierie, 55–56

  Book of Saint Albans, 32–33

  Bradshaw, Toby, 155

  Brazil Lendrum arrest, 241–42

  Lendrum case, 242–45, 247–48

  Lendrum spider bite, 246–47

  Brazilian Institute of the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (IBAMA), 241–42

  Brebner, John, 252–53

  breeding. See falcon breeding

  British Oological Association (Jourdain Society), 100, 101, 109

  Britwell, Francis J., 98

  Browne, Thomas, 97

  Brunstrom, Richard, 181–83, 184–85, 188

  Buglife, 190

  Burnham, Kurt, 160

  Butti bin Juma Al Maktoum, Sheikh falcon breeding, 136–38, 143–47, 148–49

  falcon hunting, 139

  gyrfalcon import, 141, 143

  overseas hunting trips, 140

  wildlife conservation and, 147–48

  buzzard, 108

  Cade, Tom, 134

  Cale, Holly, 111

  Calhoon, John C., 98

  caliology, 108

  Canada Lendrum’s proof of concept mission (1999), 126–27

  wildlife protection regulations, 13, 159

  See also Lendrum’s Canadian gyrfalcon egg trip

  Canning, Derek, 192

  Carson, Rachel, 11–12, 16–17

  Chance, Edgar, 99, 100

  chough, 107–8

  CITES. See Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna

  Close, Bryn, 38

  Clouds Falconry, 193

  conservation movement. See environmental consciousness; wildlife protection regulations

  Control of Trade in Endangered Species Enforcement Regulations (1997) (Great Britain), 13, 187, 207

  Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES) animal cruelty and, 105

  Article 10 documents, 14, 191–92

  black market rare-bird trade and, 194

  on ivory smuggling, 189

  Lendrum Brazil arrest and, 241

  on peregrine endangerment status, 12–13, 207

  ratification of, 133

  on taxidermy, 18, 105

  United Arab Emirates as signatory to, 137

  Convention on Migratory Species, 154

  Conway, Michelle, 57–58, 246, 265, 268

  Cook, Roger, 151

  Costing the Earth (Sedley), 217

  counterterrorism forces, 3–4

  Countryside and Rights of Way Act (2000) (Great Britain), 103, 181

  crowned eagle, 47, 60–61, 89, 253

  Customs and Excise Management Act (1979) (Great Britain), 13, 207

  Davies, Rob, 52

  D’Cruze, Carlton Julian chough egg raiding, 107–8

  confiscated egg collection of, 273

  egg collecting as obsession and, 107–8, 110–11

  Higham case and, 106

  McWilliam’s arrest of, 102–3

  recidivism of, 222

  sentence of, 114

  thrill orientation and, 110

  Victorian era and, 109

  white-tailed sea eagle egg raiding, 110–11

  DDT, 10–11, 12, 133, 273

  De Arte Venandi cum Avibus (On the Art of Hunting with Birds) (Frederick II of Hohenstaufen), 33, 131

  de Nevers, Jean, 142

  dieldrin, 12

  Discoveries in the Ruins of Nineveh and Babylon (Layard), 33–34

  Dubai black market falcon trade, 154

  falcon racing, 37–39

  falconry in culture of, 37

  industrialization, 139–40

  United Arab Emirates founding and, 135

  Waller’s falcon breeding, 40, 136–38, 143–47, 148–49

  wildlife conservation, 147–48

  See also Gulf States; Gulf States falconry; United Arab Emirates

  Dudley, Alan, 189–90

  Dugmore, Philip, 211

  Duncan, Pete, 172–74, 175

  Dupree, Julia, 251

  ecology. See environmental consciousness

  Edwardian era, 98, 99–100, 109

  Edwards, Steve, 60–61, 81

  Egg Buddy, 19–20

  egg collecting confiscated collections, 272–75

  Green case, 95–97

  history of, 97–101

  Lendrum’s childhood interest in, 43, 44–46, 47

  Adrian and Jeffrey Lendrum’s collection, 81–82, 83–84

  McWilliam’s investigations, 9, 101–3, 106–7

  as obsession, 100, 107–11, 112–14, 274

  physical risks of, 98–99, 109–10

  recidivism in, 222

  Shorrock on, 94

  thrill orientation and, 110

  Victorian era, 97–98

  egg smuggling falcon breeding and, 154–55

  Gulf States clients, search for, 18, 151, 223–24, 251, 254, 258

  Adrian Lendrum involvement, 82, 88–89, 211

  Manchester and Dover arrests, 15–16

  1980s increase in, 89

  recidivism in, 222

  thrill orientation and, 130, 258

  See also Lendrum’s egg smuggling operation; Lendrum’s South Wales egg smuggling case

  elephants, 189

  Elliot, Bob, 257

  endangered-animal skulls, 8, 189–90

  Endangered Species Act (1973) (United States), 132–33

  Endangered Species Act (1976) (Great Britain), 188, 207

  environmental consciousness bird endangerment and, 11–12, 16–17

  egg collectors and, 100–101

  Gargett, 53

  Matobo National Park raptor surveys and, 53

  McWilliam, 16–17, 111

  Middle Eastern falconry and, 140–41

  Western falconry and, 41

  Environmental Crimes Act (Brazil), 244

  Eucharisticos (Paulinus of Pella), 32

  Eurasian eagle owl, 127

  European Union, 187, 207

  Evelyn, John, 97

  exotic feather trade, 94

  Fabergé eggs, 100

  Falcon (Macdonald), 36

  falcon breeding black market falcon trade and, 191–92

  development of, 133–35

  egg smuggling and, 154–55

  racing and, 38, 40, 41

  registration certificates for, 191–92

  Waller, 136–38, 143–47, 148–49

  falcon racing, 37–40, 41, 141 See also Gulf States falconry

  falconry Medieval Europe, 32–33, 131, 142–43

  modern Western, 41, 132–33

  Nazi Germany, 133

  See also Gulf States falconry

  Falconry in Arabia (Allen), 132

  Fast Lad (gyrfalcon), 38

  Featherstone, Lee, 18–21

  Fernández, Nicolas, 235–37, 239–40, 241

  Ford, Emma, 141–42, 143

  Fox, Nick, 41, 154–55, 215

  Frederick II of Hohenstaufen (Holy Roman Emperor), 33, 131

  Froglife UK, 190

  gamekeepers, 188

  Gardiner, Barry, 186

  Gargett, Eric, 54, 58

  Gargett, Valerie African Black Eagle Survey, 53–54

  African hawk eagle survey, 55

  environmental consciousness of, 53

  expertise of, 53

  guilt of, 91

  Adrian and Jeffrey Lendrum arrest and, 84

  Lendrum Matobo egg raiding and, 59, 60, 61, 84–85

  Adrian and Jeffrey Lendrum trial and, 86

  Lendrum Zimbabwe arrest and, 83, 84

  Rhodesian Bush War and, 58–59

  Rhodesian Ornithological Society and, 56

  Glamorgan (Morris), 204

  Gonshaw, Matthew, 109, 11
0, 112

  Göring, Hermann, 133

  Graham, Charles, 225–26

  great auk, 273

  Green, Dennis arrest of, 95–96

  confiscated egg collection of, 273, 274–75

  D’Cruze and, 102

  imprisonment of, 114

  psychological problems of, 112, 113

  sentencing of, 96–97

  greenshank, 108–9

  Griffin, Harry, 101

  Griffiths, Ceri, 15

  Griffiths, Robert, 213

  Guildford, Ian, 203–6, 213, 214

  Gulf States industrialization, 139–40

  oil industry, 36–37

  United Arab Emirates founding, 135–36

  See also Gulf States falconry

  Gulf States falconry Bedouins and, 31–32

  black market falcon trade and, 14, 42, 150

  breeding and, 38, 40, 41

  business opportunities and, 41–42

  bustard depletion and, 138, 140

  cultural importance of, 37

  egg smuggling clients, search for, 18, 151, 223–24, 251, 254, 258

  nineteenth century, 33–34

  overseas hunting trips, 140–41

  passage trapping and, 132

  racing, 37–40, 41, 141

  gyrfalcon black market trade in, 15, 159

  characteristics of, 141–42

  environmental threats to, 160

  Gulf States importation of, 141, 143

  in Medieval European falconry, 32, 142–43

  prices for captive-bred, 40

  See also Lendrum’s Canadian gyrfalcon egg trips

  Gyrfalcon (Ford), 143

  Habitats Directive (1992) (European Union), 207

  Haeckel, Ernst, 99

  Hamdan bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Sheikh (crown prince of Dubai), 37–39, 40, 141

  harpy eagle, 127

  Harris, Steve, 104, 106, 114

  Hawk Board (Great Britain), 151

  Higginson, Thomas Wentworth, 274

  Higham, Anthony arrest of, 106–7

  confiscated egg collection of, 273

 

‹ Prev