An insect enthusiast who illegally captured and killed specimens of Britain’s rarest butterfly, the large blue, has been given a six-month suspended prison sentence.
The amateur entomologist and former body builder Phillip Cullen, 57, was caught after being spotted by volunteers and wardens acting suspiciously at two nature reserves in the west of England.
When challenged by volunteers at one of the reserves, he claimed he was interested in parasitic wasps and orchids.
Police later raided his terraced home in Cadbury Heath, near Bristol, and found a large number of mounted butterflies, including two large blues.
Cullen’s sentence was suspended for two years and he was ordered to carry out 250 hours of unpaid work for capturing the globally endangered butterflies at two protected sites.
He was also given a five-year criminal behaviour order banning him from three nature reserves where the large blue is found.
Prosecutor Ian Jackson told the court: “These charges are not brought on the grounds of cruelty, they are brought on the grounds of endangering a species – a rare and beautiful butterfly that has once been found extinct and is struggling to establish a foothold.”
Michael Hartnell, defending, said: “He accepts the enormity of what he has done. He only had one from each site, but he accepts that if everybody did that they would die out.
“He is extremely remorseful. His interest in the countryside and wildlife is one he has had for a long, long time.”
Hartnell said Cullen had mental health difficulties and had lost more than three stone in weight over the past 12 months owing to the “strain” of the court case, and was relying on food banks. He added that Cullen also regularly helped his elderly parents and feared he would soon become a full-time carer for them.
Magistrate Susan Helfer, chair of the bench, told Cullen: “We have decided these offences are so serious that they cross the custody threshold.
“These offences were deliberate and planned, and were committed in the knowledge that you were capturing and killing an endangered species and the risk of that butterfly becoming extinct in this country.”
Two display cases of butterflies seized from Cullen’s home were ordered to be forfeited, and will be given to a museum.
Julie Williams, chief executive of the charity Butterfly Conservation, said: “Magistrates have sent a strong message that wildlife crime is totally unacceptable in any form.
“We welcome this prosecution and commend the hard work of the National Wildlife crime unit in bringing together evidence for this important test case.
“Collecting this and other protected butterflies is not just a crime, it undermines the hard work of hundreds of volunteers, conservationists, scientists and funders who have worked tirelessly in recent decades to restore this beautiful butterfly to our countryside.”
Bristol magistrates were told the large blue was an celebrated butterfly that became extinct in the UK in the 1970s and was reintroduced to a few sites in the country in 1984. The panel heard there was a market for large blues, which sold for up to £300 a piece when mounted and made to look like Victorian specimens.
Cullen admitted possessing some protected species of butterflies but denied capturing, killing, or possessing large blues, which are protected under the conservation of habitats and species regulations 2010. He was found guilty after a day-long trial. If he is caught collecting and killing the large blue again, he will be jailed.
At Cullen’s home, police found large blues labelled with the letters “CH” and “DB”. Officers believed the letters stood for Collard Hill in Somerset and Daneway Banks in Gloucestershire – two of the areas where Cullen was spotted. He claimed that CH stood for “cobalt hue” and DB for “dark blue”.
Neil Hulme, who works forButterfly Conservation, told the court he spotted Cullen clambering over a padlocked gate at Daneway Banks in June 2015. He was carrying a child-size “shrimping” net.
Hulme said a second man “secreted himself” under a beech tree while Cullen “worked” a slope with his net. Hulme said whenever Cullen saw anyone he would drop his net. But Hulme said he was 100% sure Cullen was chasing large blues.
From time to time, Cullen would approach the second man and pass something on to him.
When asked about the scale of the problem of the illegal collection of large blues, Hulme said: “It’s probably really a small hardcore of people. It’s not widespread but the people involved are quite determined.” Hulme said capturing just a few large blues from a site where they were doing poorly could have a huge impact.
Rosie Clegg, a volunteer ranger at Collard Hill, said she had spotted Cullen there the day after his visit to Daneway Banks. He told her that he was interested in the cuckoo wasp.
Cullen insisted he went to Daneway Banks for an open day and claims he brought a shrimping net with him to catch wasps. He claimed he went to Collard Hill to film the large blue and also to collect parasitic wasps.
When explaining the meaning of the “DB” and “CH” labels, Cullen said: “I’m interested in colourations and markings – it could be indicative of climate change.”
