A LONDON MAN has been given a 14-month sentence, suspended for two years, for illegally importing and attempting to sell more than 140 endangered animal specimens, including four monkey heads, on eBay.
George Bush, 63, of Erith in East London, was also convicted of having dozens of images of bestiality in his possession.
After intelligence gathered by the UK Border Force, Bush was arrested in London on 24 January 2014.
He was charged with – and pleaded guilty to – attempting to sell the following endangered animal specimens on the internet auction site eBay:
Every species is formally protected as endangered, under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.
Bush also pleaded guilty to being in possession of 71 “extreme” images of bestiality.
On Monday, he was sentenced in Woolwich Crown Court to 10 months for selling illegally imported animal specimens, and another four months for possession of bestiality material.
The 14-month sentence was suspended for two years.
The Metropolitan Police’s Wildlife Crime Unit has identified the individual in Indonesia who illegally supplied the specimens to Bush, and that person has been dealt with by East Java police.
Reacting to this week’s sentencing, Grant Miller from the UK Border Force, said:
As the variety of species involved in this case shows, the illegal movement of endangered wildlife is part of an illicit and often cruel trade that Border Force, together with our partners in the UK and internationally, is determined to stop.
Those illegally trading in wildlife products should be in no doubt – we will target you at the UK border and beyond.
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