London (Web Report): In Britain man has been found guilty of capturing and killing two butterflies and is expected to faces a possible prison sentence to be decided next month.
According to details, the man killed the Britain’s rarest butterflies, the endangered Large Blues, which have been a prized collector’s item since the Victorian era.
Conservation volunteers had spotted Cullen trapping Large Blues with a small net in two protected areas in Gloucestershire and Somerset in southwest England.
In this unique case, judges at the court in the southwest city of Bristol late on Thursday found 57-year-old Philip Cullen guilty of killing the Large Blues, is expected to decide the person period of the man.
Police then raided his home in Bristol in February last year and found 30 trays of dead moths and butterflies, including the Large Blues in question.
Investigators discovered that Cullen was selling the butterflies on eBay while he claimed he had bought the Large Blues in his possession from a French farm.
A non-governmental group - Butterfly Conservation said, “There was a black market for mounted Large Blues mocked up to look like Victorian-era specimens that could sell for up to £300 (345 euros, $371) each”.
