TWO men have been charged under new laws designed to protect endangered creatures after police seized 20 stuffed animals from an antiques store.

Darrell Kevin Cosgrove, 41, and Paul Barrett, 58, have each been accused of 28 offences connected to trading in the taxidermy of endangered species.

Officers recovered a large range of birds and animals after a raid at the Sellitall shop in Blackburn Road, Accrington in March.

At the time Cosgrove was the owner of the shop and Barrett was the manager.

Among the haul seized by police were three tawny owls, a European eagle owl, a sparrowhawk, two buzzards, two peregrine falcons, a Eurasian owl, a red squirrel, a Scottish wildcat, a mounted otter's head and a mounted badger's head.

The two men each face 20 charges under the Control of Trade in Endangered Species regulations and eight charges under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.

The Control of Trade In Endangered Species Regulations govern wildlife trade in the UK. The items were sent to the Guild of Taxidermy for analysis.

Cosgrove, of Timberhurst, Bury, and Barrett of Ribble Drive, Bury, will appear at Hyndburn Magistrates Court next week.

Lancashire Police wildlife officer, PC Nick Mattock, said: "A number of protected birds of prey and other items were recovered from the shop.

The operation was a result of information from the public which suggested endangered species were in the shop.

"While these specimens may not have been killed for taxidermy, people do kill for that purpose because there is a market for it and people feed that market, which is why we carry out such operations."

At the time of the raid former owner Kevin Cosgrove said 16 police officers raided the store.