Devon man fined almost £5,000 over wild bird eggs collection

William Beaton took his first egg at the age of five in 1948 and had illegally collected hundreds more since, court toldA retired solicitor from Devon who amassed a collection of hundreds of eggs over nearly 70 years has been fined almost £5,000 and had his haul confiscated. William Beaton, 73, told Plymouth magistrates he took his first egg – from a blackbird’s nest – on a “fine April evening” when he was five.Continue reading...