Jourdain Society

The Jourdain Society is or was a controversial society based in the United Kingdom, its aims being ‘the advancement of the science of oology’, the collection and study of intact birds' eggs. Established in 1922 as the British Oological Association, it changed its name in 1946 in memory of distinguished ornithologist and oologist Reverend Francis Jourdain (1865–1940).[1][2][3] The society was a social gathering that held regular dinners, established as an elitist club, which did not admit women and professional dealers.[4][5][6]

The front cover of The Eggs of European Birds, a 1906 book by Jourdain.

Egg-collecting is the removal of intact, unhatched eggs from a birds' nest, followed by drilling out the contents to keep the egg intact. It was considered a respectable leisure pursuit in the nineteenth and early twentieth century, at a time when conservation, study and hunting were not seen as opposed activities. However the activity became extremely controversial after conservationists concluded that the taking of rare birds' eggs was a major factor in their extinction and endangerment, and that the activity lacked real scientific value.[7][8] Jourdain co-founded the society after being offended by early criticism of the practice.[1]

In 1954, the collection of new eggs from nests was made illegal by the Protection of Birds Act,[9] and from this point the society was widely believed to act as an information exchange for a hard core of egg-takers and their customers.[10]

Its membership of often wealthy collectors was monitored by the RSPB and several times raided by police. A significant event occurred in July 1994 when the society's dinner at a hotel in Salisbury was raided by police. A number of collections on display were seized, totalling 11,000 wild birds' eggs. Six members of the society were convicted.[11][12][13][14]

The society at one stage held charitable status but later ceased holding this.[15] Records from the Charity Commission for England and Wales indicate it ceased to exist as a charity in 2001.[16]

Members claimed in 1994 that the society expelled members with convictions and in 1998 that the society was composed of "first-class field naturalists who carefully study breeding habits".[4]

References
  1. Rubenstein, Julian (15 July 2013). "Operation Easter". The New Yorker. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
  2. Gosler, Andrew. "Yet Even More Ways To Dress Eggs" (PDF). British Birds. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
  3. Gwyther, Matthew (2012). "Eagle Eyes on the Egg Thieves (1998)". In Moss, Stephen (ed.). The Hedgerows Heaped with May: The Telegraph Book of the Countryside. London: Aurum Press. ISBN 9781781311011. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
  4. John Lister-Kaye (5 March 2015). Gods of the Morning: A Bird's Eye View of a Highland Year. Canongate Books. pp. 145–9. ISBN 978-1-78211-416-1.
  5. Cole, Edward. "Handle with care: historical geographies and difficult cultural legacies of egg-collecting" (PDF). University of Glasgow (PhD thesis). Retrieved 16 December 2020.
  6. "Oology: The criminal history of the fanatical egg collectors". BBC. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
  7. David Callahan (14 August 2014). A History of Birdwatching in 100 Objects. A&C Black. pp. 90–1. ISBN 978-1-4081-8665-7.
  8. "Protection of Birds Act 1954". Legislation.gov.uk. Gov.uk. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
  9. "Empty Nests (1995)". ITN News. Retrieved 23 March 2016. "Empty Nests" reports on members of the Jourdain Society, a bird conservation charity, and the illegal snatching of eggs from birds' nests.
  10. "Bob Calls it a Day" (PDF). Legal Eagle: The RSPB's Investigations Newsletter. No. 23. RSPB (published January 2000). 2000. p. 5.
  11. Braid, Mary (October 1994). "Egg society denies aiding nest thefts: An obscure group named after a Victorian clergyman is accused of acting as a front for illegal collectors who damage rare species". The Independent. Archived from the original on 2022-06-17. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
  12. Ratcliffe, Roger. "Forbidden passions, death and birds eggs". Yorkshire Post. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
  13. "Not Birdwatching, bird(crime)watching! (1996)". RSPB. Retrieved 23 March 2016. And just in case you thought egg collecting had stopped, one of the results of the police raid on the annual meeting of the Jourdain Society was the conviction of John Maylin. He pleaded guilty to the possession of 314 Tree Pipit eggs and was fined £500 with £172 costs. The Jourdain Society is named after the distinguished Reverend who was an egg-collector when few people thought how anti-social it was. The Tree Pipit is a delightful little migrant bird currently declining in Britain. Most British birders will never have seen as many as 314 in their lives!
  14. Barkham, Patrick (11 December 2006). "The egg snatchers". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
  15. "THE JOURDAIN SOCIETY COLLECTION - Charity 261162". register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk. Retrieved 2022-02-17.
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