Burnley taxidermy dealer who was selling rhino skulls, stuffed tiger cubs and a whale tooth is jailed

Aaron Halstead (29), of Glen View Road, Burnley, was sentenced to 56 weeks at Preston Crown Court today.

In December 2017, police launched an investigation into Halstead after being alerted to the fact that he offered to sell a black rhino skull, a sawfish rostrum and a whale tooth.

Officers seized a wide range of taxidermy related items including stuffed tiger cubs, rhino horns, rhino heads and three elephant tusks, which included one in excess of two metres in length that is understood to be one of the largest ever seized in the UK.

Other items included the rhino skull, sperm whale tooth and the sawfish rostrum that Halstead had offered to sell. Officers also seized a mass of paperwork related to his trade in taxidermy.

It was clear to the investigating officers that Halstead was trading legally in taxidermy, but they suspected he was using his trade to front his criminal activity.

Following the warrant, Halstead was arrested but declined to provide explanations for any of the seized items.

Officers undertook a painstaking analysis of the paperwork and the data downloaded from Halstead's iPhone and uncovered WhatsApp messages showing that he had been trading extensively in taxidermy.

Although the majority of his trading had been legal, officers found comprehensive evidence showing that Halstead was also involved in an illicit trade with dealers from around the globe, which he was trying to hide amongst his legal dealing.

Halstead had used contacts in Spain to broker the sale of rhino horns to buyers from China, falsifying documentation for a cover story, he drove to Calais twice where he met the buyers and sold four rhino horns for significant amounts of cash.

Halstead was arranging to sell two more horns, which officers found in his freezer. They also uncovered messages indicating that Halstead was actively trying to source further rhino horns, which he intended to sell to his Chinese contacts and find buyers for the elephant tusks.

As the investigation progressed, Halstead’s activities also attracted the attention of Interpol and the Dutch Police. That was after officers found that Halstead had acquired tiger skulls from another dealer based in the Netherlands, which he was selling to other contacts.

This is the third occasion that Halstead has come to the adverse attention of the police and National Wildlife Crime Unit. In December 2015 Halstead was given a 24 week prison sentence for the prohibited trade in other endangered species.

PC Nigel Keates, a Lancashire Constabulary wildlife officer hopes this custodial sentence will deter others from committing crimes of this nature, and urged people to think of the ramifications on wildlife and endangered species.

PC Keates added: “I welcome today’s sentence, which comes at the end of a long and complex investigation. Halstead profited from trading in the world’s critically endangered species and his actions were both selfish and abhorrent."

It is hoped some of the items will now be donated to museums, while others will be used by the Lancashire Constabulary Rural Crime and Wildlife Team during their educational roadshows across the county.

Anyone with information on wildlife crime in their area can call police on 101 or report it online at https://doitonline.lancashire.police.uk