Wildlife crime can have significant, detrimental consequences on communities and livelihoods, not to mention the potential pain and suffering to animals so I understand the importance of tackling wildlife crime which is any activity that goes against legislation protecting the UK's wild animals and plants.
I know that the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the Home Office fund the National Wildlife Crime Unit (NWCU) to tackle these crimes. The NWCU provides intelligence, analysis and investigative assistance to the police and other law enforcement agencies across the UK to support them in investigating wildlife crime. This can include cases referred by the Border Force, the National Crime Agency or individual forces. The NWCU also works with EUROPOL and INTERPOL to tackle international wildlife crime activity.
Strategic and tactical assessments from the NWCU take into consideration the views of the Wildlife Conservation Advisory Group, which highlight priorities based on the conservation status of specific species and review all other non-priority intelligence to identify any emerging threats. These assessments ultimately drive the operational response to tackling wildlife crime in the UK.
While non-notifiable wildlife crime can still be investigated, I understand that the last Government's approach was to keep under review any legislative proposals to increase the range of wildlife crimes that have notifiable status. Chief Constables have operational independence to tackle crimes that matter most to their communities. I am aware this Government has said, "there are no plans currently to make wildlife crimes notifiable."
However, any case of cruelty towards any animal is completely unacceptable and I would fully welcome prosecutions against anyone found to have caused unnecessary suffering to an animal. As you may already know, under the provisions in the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, The Wild Mammals (Protection) Act 1996 and Animal Welfare Act 2006, there are a range of offences around injuring and inflicting unnecessary suffering on wildlife.
In addition, the last Conservative Government's Animal Welfare (Sentencing) Act 2021 fulfilled its commitment to increase the sentences available to our courts for the most serious cases of animal cruelty, including acts against wildlife, by raising the maximum penalty for this offence to five years’ imprisonment and/or an unlimited fine. New measures in the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act came into force on 1st August 2022, which empowered and equipped the police and courts with the powers they need to combat hare coursing. The precise sentencing of individuals convicted of wildlife crimes is, however, a matter for judges, which is rightly the case given judicial independence. I understand your desire to see these crimes appropriately punished; however, it is necessary to ensure that any punishment is proportionate to the crime. Ensuring an appropriate balance is in place is critical to protecting wildlife from harm
It remains unclear if the new Labour Government will continue with the approach of the last Government or change course. I assure you I will follow any developments closely.
As always, if you believe that someone has broken the law in relation to hares, badgers, or indeed any other animal, I would urge you to report the matter to the police who can investigate further.
