"Environment crime strikes not only at a locality and its population but at the planet and its future. Nobody should be allowed to doubt its seriousness." -UK Lord Justice Stephen Sedley
It seems the reason that Jeffrey Lendrum was asking people on this forum to call him on the phone or Skype in order to "explain" is that he's had so much experience as a pathological liar in getting people to believe his lies. Courts that have convicted him are on record as calling his testimony "laughable." He lies to people and thinks they will believe him. It often worked.
One of his worst crimes in a human-to-human sense was when he was welcomed into a bird/ornithological society in Zimbabwe, the African Black Eagle Survey. Other members, including the leader at the time, a woman considered as a "Jane Goodall of the raptor world" (according to Joshua Hammer's book) eventually realized Lendrum was using his work and cover at the survey to repeatedly steal the eggs from nests that he had been entrusted to protect and research. Aside from the animal abuse and stealing eggs from bird-mothers that he scared away, that's where the antisocial personality disorder becomes clear: even an ignorant person who hand-waves away "wildlife crime? no big deal, it's just (endangered) animals!" must admit that repeatedly lying and exploiting people around you is bad. This is like learning that your co-worker at the Dog Shelter was secretly hoarding dogs for illegal dog-fighting rings.
Note that Lendrum's username here Bell407 is presumably a reference to the helicopters he sometimes used for finding and getting near endangered species in remote wilds and then committing crimes against them. (A Bell 406 is documented in Joshua Hammer's book.)
Anyway, the user Rookhawk above makes the mistake of concluding that because the criminal is despicable (that part is true) then the criminal must be counter-productive as well. Rookhawk mentioned several cash quantities to make a mathematical case (and erroneously proposed CITES permits as an avenue for a smuggler), but failed to inquire about the black market perceived difference between a wild specimen and a captive bred. Rookhawk also mentions facility costs as if the cost means the facilities don't exist: but in fact reality shows many such facilities exist in the Middle East. Even though Lendrum apparently didn't get rich, he was able to finance and live off of many repeated trips, steal endangered eggs from nests in various countries, buy and maintain equipment, vehicles, go back and forth with dealers via airports etc, over and over and over again. The mistake Rookhawk makes is in ridiculing a lack of larger profits, instead of focusing on the disturbing level of destruction and *financial sustainability* of the crimes.
Also, Lendrum kept doing it after multiple convictions. Rather than an exhibition of stupidity we should be reflecting on all the many smuggling trips that didn't get caught. It must have been productive with buyers. If it was merely a personal obsession he could have kept a secret shrine somewhere. He was repeatedly travelling internationally for it.
Though I think I can say Lendrum didn't shoot and kill animals? I cannot say the same for username "Terminator" who has a dead mammal as an apparently-glorious profile picture.
