Taxidermist sold pickled lizards and monkey heads on eBay

Daniel Stocks, 42, was discovered when customs intercepted a preserved veiled chameleon from the USA

A taxidermist who sold pickled lizards and monkey heads on eBay has been jailed.

Daniel Stocks, 42, was discovered when customs intercepted a preserved veiled chameleon from the US.

Stocks, of Vale Road, Kingskerswell, admitted fraudulently evading the restrictions on importing and exporting endangered species and two counts of keeping and selling specimens.

He was jailed for six months at Exeter Crown Court.

'Quack the ripper'

The court heard Stocks' work includes props for films including The Smurfs, American Horror Show and Moby Dick, and one of his creations turned up as a curiosity on the BBC quiz show QI.

His other taxidermy included a bloodstained stuffed duck named Quack the Ripper.

Stocks was making up to £20,000 a month by selling shrunken heads on eBay and other online sites.

The court heard he was importing skulls, hands and feet from a contact in Indonesia and misleading buyers by saying they were not covered by the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).

The monkey parts, hornbill skull, chameleon and leopard cat specimens in his possession were confiscated, the National Crime Agency said

National Crime Agency wildlife investigators found emails showed he had tried to buy bat penises and inquired about acquiring real human skulls from a contact in Portugal.

Sean Brunton, prosecuting, said Stocks' home and his business in Newton Abbot were both searched in May 2015 where investigators found 3,203 advertisements on eBay and other online sites.

Stocks told buyers the trade was legal, when it was not, the court heard.

The National Crime Agency investigation revealed Stocks had been trading in horn bills, leopard cats, langur monkeys and green monkeys

Nicolas Gerasimidis, defending, said Stocks was confused by Latin names of species on the CITES list and his own research on the internet suggested the monkeys he was buying were not endangered or protected.

Judge Erik Salomonsen said: "Those who trade in animal parts, particularly those who have a knowledge of the existence of the restrictions, have an obligation to understand and comply with them."

Stocks claimed he did not know the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species rules, but listings he wrote for eBay made highly specific references to the regulations