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| Butterfly Collecting - unethical and unsustainable |
Collecting butterflies for display as dead specimens can have some scientific value but on the whole, this practice in now frowned upon as our understanding of wildlife protection increases and the ability to record our experiences of wild butterflies becomes easier as digital photography and video capture develops.
The main question people ask is why do you need to have cabinets full of dead specimens? Its a good question. Many 'collectors' will strongly argue their case but in general, their behaviour is one of selfishness, greed and obsession. No collector could ever claim to be helping wild butterflies by killing them in their prime.
www.britishbutterflies.co.uk does not endorse the collecting of wild specimens to be killed for display purposes and is firmly against the sale of any material, whatever its source or age.
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The Collecting Debate |
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What would you like to see?
1. A butterfly in all its glory, flying wild and free for all to see, now and in the future?
or
2. A dead faded butterfly pinned through its body in a cabinet full of other dead specimens?
The vast majority would pick 1 as their answer. We all love to see butterflies in summer.
Yet there are people out in our countryside who capture and kill butterflies just so they can collect them as trophies. Many collectors aim to get a complete 'set' of British Butterflies which means both common and rare species are collected, even species that are protected by law from collection.
Once the complete set is achieved, the obsessive nature of collectors means that their collecting does not stop there. They seek out rare forms and aberrants and sometimes plunder vulnerable colonies of large numbers of butterflies.
Often, these 'pinned specimens' are sold as 'bred in captivity' or from 'old collections'... but you have to take the sellers word for it!! Many collectors have little or no interested in adding to the scientific knowledge of butterflies and it it is not unknown for data labels to be faked to look old even though the butterflies have been caught recently and illegally. Remember, if someone is selling 'pinned' butterflies, they are selling to make money... not to protect butterflies.
Some collecting may be required in rare instances for scientific research to further the study and protection of species in the wild. In most instances, individuals conducting legitimate research must apply for an official permit from Natural England to collect small numbers of wild adult butterflies for scientific purposes but permits will be refused if it is deemed pointless or damaging to capture and kill wild specimens. The resulting specimens should not in my opinion be then sold to the highest bidder, instead, they should be preserved in research institutions to allow for future study.
However, even official collection of specimens apparently sanctioned by Natural England (the Government Agency in charge of protecting our wildlife) have recently (November 2008) appeared on ebay for sale. This only makes the argument to stop all illegal collection and sale of wild caught specimens more difficult to police and makes the protection of wild butterflies very difficult. It also makes many people question the motives of this particular individual.
Many collectors are purely interested in the financial value of pinned butterflies which they can sell to other collectors. Rare species and unusual forms sadly command premium prices putting these species and forms at even greater risk.
Many species of butterfly are under severe threat through habitat loss. This combined with pressure from collectors who try to collect pristine examples of butterflies before they even have an opportunity to mate and lay eggs for future generations can put vulnerable wild colonies at increased risk of extinction.
Similar issues have arisen in the UK over the collecting of birds eggs. As a result, the RSPB has pressed charges and successfully prosecuted those caught collecting or in possession of protected birds eggs. |
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Prosecutions and Obsessive Collecting |
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Examples of two successful prosecutions for collecting butterflies in England under Section 9(5)(a) of the Wildlife and
Countryside Act 1981 are detailed below.
The first case was as a result of an RSPB investigator who gave a presentation at the Police Wildlife Liaison Officers Conference in 1993. Following the conference a police officer from Leicester, who had been present at the
conference, arrested two people in 1994 at Leicester Entomological Fair and charged them
with offering for sale Chequered Skipper specimens. The dealer was fined £490 on conviction.
The second case was as a result of incidental discovery of a large collection of butterflies during a raid on a suspected egg-collector by an RSPB investigation
team. The collection included specimens of the Large Blue, a species fully protected under UK law. It turned out that despite the apparent old data labels with the butterflies, maps found in the flat of the owner showed the locations from which they had been recently taken in Sweden. The collector admitted that he had falsified the data labels and had actually collected the butterflies in Sweden. Unfortunately, the case was thrown out on a technicality, when it was brought in the wrong court.
However, this same collector who had previously escaped conviction
was convicted in November 1996 at Salisbury magistrates of offering for sale 13 High Brown
Fritillary specimens without a licence. The collector was fined £150. The man was discovered by a policeman who spotted an advert in a local free newspaper.
Examples of Obsessive Collecting
Collecting butterflies may not be the primary cause for massive species decline or extinction in the UK. Indeed, most instances of decline or extinction in the UK is due to mans greed and need for 'development' resulting in the loss of key habitat for butterflies.
However, in some instances, excessive collecting can have a severely detrimental effect on butterfly populations, especially on rare or threatened species. Barnwell Wold in Northamptonshire, once a site containing Large Blue, was heavily collected for approximately 20 years. In 1860, 200 adult butterflies were taken by one dealer and the colony never recovered.
Most people will agree that this form of obsessive collecting and pressure on butterfly populations will have a detrimental effect on butterfly numbers and certainly does not further the scientific understanding of the species.
Today, collectors tend to be very secretive of their behaviour and tend to avoid collecting on designated nature reserves but will often stalk just outside reserve boundaries on the lookout for butterflies which stray beyond the protection of a reserve. Collectors have been seen outside Bernwood Meadows for example actively collecting the rare Black Hairstreak butterfly. At Wood Walton Fen, collectors have been reported taking butterflies which were part of an attempted re-establishment of the extinct Large Copper.
Other species effected by collecting include the Swallowtail, Purple Emperor, Brown Hairstreak, Duke of Burgundy, High Frown Fritillary, Pearl-bordered Fritillary and Silver-washed Fritillary. |
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What about old collections? |
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Collecting butterflies in Victorian and Edwardian Britain was a popular pastime which lasted well into the 1970's. Even today, there are a few individuals who collect butterflies although this sort of activity is now thought to be unacceptable. There are many old collections in existence. But what do you do with these old collections?
I certainly would not suggest that these collections be destroyed. I do believe that such collections should be held solely by museums and research bodies (universities) allowing them to be accessible to the public for research and study. There are very few if any reasons today for anyone to want to capture and kill wild butterflies except for financial gain.
The Natural History Museum hold one of the largest collections (The Cockayne Collection) of 'pinned' specimens of British Butterflies. Almost all of the specimens can be viewed online.
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Sold to the highest bidder... |
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The extinct British Race of the Large Blue
apparently collected in Cornwall in 1911
for sale on Ebay (December 2008) |
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Large Heaths
apparently collected from Whixall Moss in 1937
for sale on Ebay (December 2008) |
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Stay vigilant, use common sense |
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Some species are fully protected and should not be interfered with in any way... this includes being temporarily captured in a net for identification purposes. Often, local by-laws prohibit the use of butterfly nets. More information here.
Always challenge someone who you think may be collecting butterflies illegally. Most people will be happy to talk openly with you if they are doing nothing wrong.
No one is allowed to capture adult butterflies or other life stages on nature reserves, private land or indeed anywhere in the UK if the species is a protected species without a permit from Natural England. These permits may be accompanied by a letter from the organisation for whom any research or survey is being undertaken.... e.g. Butterfly Conservation and will clearly state what the person is licence to do. In most cases, licences are granted only for capture and release surveys where researchers are studying butterfly movements or have to capture individual butterflies in order to accurately identify them before releasing them immediately unharmed.
Report illegal collecting to the police.
If it is safe to do so, take photographs or video evidence of the illegal activity. Ask the individual if he/she has a licence but do be aware that licences are only required to capture certain species or to use a net or catch butterflies on certain protected sites such as nature reserves and SSSI's. |
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