Press release by Wildlife & Countryside LINK (6 November 2020)
Wildlife cybercrime is in police’s sights, but wildlife crime underworld remains mostly beneath the radar
Our 2019 Annual Wildlife Crime Report gives a snapshot picture of the state of wildlife crimes across England and Wales
Wildlife and Countryside Link and Wales Environment Link’s latest report on wildlife crime across England and Wales reveals positive progress in identifying and tackling hi-tech online criminals who are harming our wildlife. Yet centuries old hunting, trapping, and poisoning practices, and smuggling of illegal wildlife goods, are still widespread, and exacting a heavy penalty for nature, warn conservation experts.
Activity on wildlife cybercrime (which can include illegal hunting and trapping coordination, gambling on live-stream cruelty such as badger and dog fights, and the online sale of rare protected species) has ramped up over the last year. Online initiatives from police and wildlife organisations have led to more tips from the public, arrests, and rescues of animals – such as dogs injured in badger-baiting. The creation of a new Cyber Enabled Wildlife Crime Priority Delivery Group, led by the police National Wildlife Crime Unit, has been hailed by conservationists as a major step forward in improving prevention, intelligence and enforcement.
Yet many wildlife crimes continue to be unwitnessed or unreported and go unpunished. A shocking array of wildlife including bats, birds, badgers, plants, hares, deer, fish, seals, dolphins, amphibians and reptiles, and more, are harmed at the hands of hunters, poachers, criminals, and even normally law-abiding members of the public every year. Overall levels of reported wildlife crimes have changed very little in the four years since our annual report was first published, with 3800 incidents reported in 2019 compared to 4288 in 2016.
Convictions remain shockingly low, with just 10 people convicted of wildlife crimes in 2019 (other than convictions relating to fisheries crimes).
Dr Richard Benwell CEO of Wildlife and Countryside Link said: “The wildlife crime underworld in Britain remains rampant. Our figures are just a snapshot of the number of animals being illegally hurt and killed every single day, sometimes for sport, sometimes for profit, sometimes in sheer callousness. Steps forward in tackling the growing online world of wildlife crime are very welcome. But overall a lack of adequate police recording and resourcing, low levels of prosecutions and inadequate sentencing are leaving our wildlife without the protection it needs“.
Martin Sims of the League Against Cruel Sports and Chair of Link’s Wildlife Crime Working Group, said: “It seems incredible in our digital age that our police forces can’t just call up the data they need to effectively tackle wildlife crime at the touch of a button. While the police are cracking down on wildlife cyber criminals more effectively now, their own electronic data on wildlife crimes is decades behind where it should be. We need to bring the fight against wildlife crime into the 21st century and ensure police have the resources they need to punish those who are harming our natural world“.
Paul De Ornellas, Chief Wildlife Adviser at WWF-UK said: “In recent years the UK has played a significant role in focusing global attention on the illegal wildlife trade. This report clearly shows that wildlife crime, including links to illicit wildlife trade internationally, is happening here at home, with a concerning increase in cybercrime and the use of major UK airports by traffickers. To continue to show global leadership, the government must do more to address IWT in its own backyard, as well as overseas”.
The biggest barrier to tackling wildlife crime remains the lack of recording, reporting, and resourcing allocated to these crimes by the police and Home Office. Wildlife cybercrime is believed to be extensive, but, as with many types of wildlife crime, it is not recorded in any meaningful way, due in large part to the absence of dedicated police wildlife crime reporting codes. So it is impossible to assess patterns and levels of wildlife crimes accurately and effectively target resources. There is a National Wildlife Crime Unit within the police, but this has been significantly underfunded for years and is currently going through an opaque restructuring process.
While fisheries crimes continue to receive low sentencing (and are a target for organised crime for this reason), the data, prosecution and conviction rates for fisheries crimes are notably better than for other types of wildlife crime. The main reason for this is that these crimes are tackled by a well-resourced section of the Environment Agency (in England) and Natural Resources Wales, funded by fishing licence fees. The fact that in 2019 2642 fisheries crimes were reported (more than double the number of all types of wildlife crime we report on combined) and 1992 people were convicted (compared to just 10 for other crimes) puts into stark relief the difference that adequate resourcing can make.
To help ensure that wildlife across England and Wales are adequately protected, conservation groups are calling on the Home Office and the Police to:
- Ensure wildlife crimes are recorded and reported on effectively – with long-promised dedicated wildlife crime recording codes put into place urgently
- Create a new Wildlife Crime Strategy with recording, reporting and resourcing at its heart, backed up by an action plan for the delivery of key targets
- Provide transparency over changes to the police’s National Wildlife Crime Unit – including a consultation on funding, form and function to ensure this coordination body is better-resourced and fit for purpose
- Keep up the momentum on wildlife cybercrime – by ensuring funding is in place to increase effectiveness through more dedicated officers to tackle the growth in online coordination and facilitation of wildlife crimes.
- Deliver effective guidance and training on wildlife crimes for police officers through online knowledge and training hubs and tying local police in to regional wildlife enforcement hubs,
- Strengthen the network of wildlife crime experts within the Crown Prosecution Service and ensure they are actively available to inform and support police officers
ENDS
The report can be downloaded here:
Notes to Editors
Wildlife and Countryside Link is the largest environment and wildlife coalition in England, bringing together 57 organisations to use their strong joint voice for the protection of nature. Wales Environment Link is a network of environmental, countryside and heritage non-governmental organisations with an all-Wales remit. Both operate as part of a UK-wide coalition – Environment Links UK. The calls in the Wildlife Crime Annual Report 2019 are supported by: Amphibian and Reptile Conservation, Badger Trust, Bat Conservation Trust, Born Free Foundation, Buglife, Humane Society International UK, Institute of Fisheries Management, League Against Cruel Sports, the National Trust, Naturewatch Foundation, Plantlife, RSPB, the RSPCA, Whale and Dolphin Conservation, Wild Justice, WWF-UK, Zoological Society of London (ZSL).
The Independent ran an exclusive on the report’s launch today – see here
Raptor Persecution UK 
I wonder if an across-the-board increase in penalties for wildlife crime wouldn’t automatically increase Police resources, and also automatically bring about all the changes and improvements being called for?
Some of this lack of progress by the police in tackling wildlife crime probably has some of its roots in the financial crash of 2088. This led to a prolonged period of under funding in the public sector, including the police and CPS.
As police chiefs had to manage massively reduced budgets and prioritise policing, it was natural that the focus of policing would shift towards violent, acquisitional, drug crime, terrorism and antisocial behaviour in the inner cities.
As wildlife crime is often seen as victimless ( other than to the animals themselves) then it simply wasn’t going to get the attention it deserved, and wasn’t going to be seen as a priority. by most police forces.
Even in recent years as police numbers have increased , this hasn’t lead to an increase in dedicated wildlife officers in most constabularies. This is most probably due to society placing so much demand on what is still a very under resourced police service.
Whilst the police have rightly in some rural areas started to take wildlife crime more seriously and have desperately tried to respond to reports of wildlife crime, such as the illegal killing of birds of prey or hare coursing. This doesn’t appear to have led to a national wildlife crime preventative strategy, with coordinated proactive policing between different police areas.
Wildlife crime is also very diverse, and ranges from the illegal killing of birds of prey in remote rural areas, to organised dog fighting and hare coursing. Those committing wildlife crimes, also do not come from one similar background, which makes offender targeting even more difficult. The gamekeeper killing birds of prey is totally different from the people who come from urban areas who organise dog fighting or go out with their lurcher dogs to hare course.
When the financial fallout from Covid19 starts to impact government spending, I wouldn’t be surprised if wildlife crime again slips down the list of policing priorities.
So whilst various conservation organisations may be calling upon the police and Home Office to adequately protect wildlife with list of objectives. The question is- “Could this just be a wish list rather than something which will actually come to fruition?”
But was wildlife crime detection any better before 2008?
A very thoughtful contribution, all the same.