(Issued on behalf of the Peak District Moorland Group).
Gamekeepers played a key role in catching a suspected thief who was found with more than 200 birds’ eggs in his possession by police.
Four wild birds – three golden plover and one curlew – have hatched from a few eggs discovered in an incubator at a house in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire.
It has now emerged that gamekeepers from two grouse moors on the northern fringe of the Peak District tracked the suspect over several weeks and reported him to the police.
Last night the keepers were praised for their actions which resulted in a man being arrested as South Yorkshire Police and the National Wildlife Crime Unit continued their investigation.
One of the keepers involved said: “We spotted this man out on the moor and he was acting pretty strangely. We reported him to the police who asked us to watch his movements and when he returned for a third time over a quite a period of weeks, the police got hold of him.
“Three keepers from two different grouse moors and a local farmer helped in tracking this man who was repeatedly found in the area, which is close to an RSPB reserve. We’re delighted that four birds have been saved.”
The eggs from the incubator were taken to a nursery in Thorgumbald, East Yorkshire, where they were kept until they hatched.
Richard Bailey, co-ordinator of the Peak District Moorland Group, said: “The keepers involved deserve the highest praise. Their actions have prevented further danger to wildlife which they work so hard to preserve on the moors.”
