In February Wild Justice launched a legal challenge against the casual killing of birds permitted under Natural England’s General Licences (see here).
Natural England has yet to respond, although the deadline is looming (25 April 2019 to respond to the court and a further seven days to respond to Wild Justice, so by 2 May 2019 at the latest).
Meanwhile, Wild Justice Directors have been busy exploring other potential projects with a number of senior police officers who specialise in tackling wildlife crime. Earlier in April they met with Chief Inspector Lou Hubble (Head of National Wildlife Crime Unit, NWCU) and Deputy Chief Constable Craig Naylor (National Police Chiefs Council, NPCC). This was an extremely productive meeting and a number of themes have since developed as a direct result.
On Thursday Wild Justice Directors met with Superintendent Nick Lyall, Head of the Raptor Persecution Priority Delivery Group (RPPDG) to continue to build a strong working relationship and share some information. Given that Nick was supposed to be on annual leave but still chose to come along is a measure of his commitment to this issue. He has some excellent ideas for moving things forward on a few fronts and the determination to deliver. Watch this space.
Also on Thursday, Wild Justice Directors met with Chief Inspector Phil Vickers in what was an enlightening discussion about illegal hare coursing and how Wild Justice might contribute most effectively to Operation Galileo, the national police response to tackling this wildlife crime. Ideas are currently in development and discussions with other interested organisations have been arranged.
Raptor Persecution UK 
Congratulations on what may well prove to be constructive discussions with senior police officers in the quest to get public bodies to do their statutory duty in relation to our natural environment.
Police in Scotland have often expressed concern over the difficulties they face in getting wildlife crime cases to court. This makes it all the more infuriating that almost two years after the Cabinet Secretary for Environment, Land Reform and Climate Change suggested that I should approach the Crown Office for information on reasons why wildlife crime cases were prevented from reaching court, I have now been refused three times by the Crown Office Procurator Fiscal Service in my quest to obtain information I need about refusal to proceed with cases where there is video evidence of wildlife crimes in progress. They added that they were not prepared to contact the convener of the Environment Committee as well as myself. I am running out of time to propose changes to the law based upon information about the reason or reasons why such evidence was deemed to be obtained in an irregular manner. It is most annoying that I may be forced to propose a change in the law which, if not based upon the correct reason for the irregularity, may well not be effective in allowing video evidence of wildlife crimes in progress supported by other evidence from the police and member/s of the public to reach court, the whole point of petition PE1705. I have not yet given up all hope of countering any such irregularity, but am close to that point.
I believe the police are learning to respond to the concerns of the conservation lobby, thanks to the work of organisations like RPUK, Wild Justice and Revive. Not respecting wildlife is not respecting life. My congratulations and thanks on behalf of all wildlife lovers. All is far from perfect, even in Scotland, but the fringe meeting with Revive at the SNP conference may be an opportunity to raise concerns.
NWCU has frustrated partnership working and deliberately excluded enforcement agencies for many years. This has been to the detriment of raptors and wildlife in England and Scotland.
Their complete lack of past success and effectiveness speaks for itself.
NWCU should concentrate on their primary function which is enforcement by gathering intellegence, providing packages to enforcement organisations and promoting partnership working before seeking PR on the coat tails of high profile advocate organisations.
That’s a bit unfair, Ben.
Sure, in previous years the NWCU has been viewed with suspicion and mistrust by many, and not without good reason.
There’s a new Head at NWCU now. Lou Hubble is under no illusion about how much trust needs to be re-built, why it needs to be re-built, and how long it’ll take to re-build, but she’s made a strong start.
It’s unfair to argue that NWCU should be promoting partnership working and then when they do (e.g. with Wild Justice) to then accuse them of ‘seeking PR on the coat tails of high profile advocate organisations’!
For the record, Wild Justice invited NWCU to a meeting (which would never have happened a year ago!) to discuss opportunities for genuine partnership working. It was a frank but positive discussion and hopefully will be the first of many.
Give her a fair chance, please.
As someone who has been involved in wildlife crime for many years I think the main role of police should be enforcement.
Due to cuts ,in virtually all other areas of policing an interventions approach is being adopted which hinges on partner working to detect and disrupt offenders.
Bizzarly the interventions strategy is not being adopted or promoted by NWCU who also advise police wildlife crime officers to do the same.
Of course change would be welcome however anyone who has any knowledge of the history of wildlife crime will know that there is no consistency and police personnel come and go with depressing regularity.
I would like to see NWCU making their mark on enforcement first, before cherry picking publicity.
There is a view with senior police that think wildlife crime and in particular raptor crime cannot be solved or is to difficult and other approaches should be considered.
Truth is enforcement has never been tried at any serious level within the police.
This applies to both Scotland and England.
NWCU would be better placed dealing with the criminal before the civil or political.