A new report published today by Wildlife and Countryside Link and Wales Environment Link has revealed a worrying increase of 35% to 90% in the reporting of wildlife crimes against Badgers, fish, birds of prey and marine mammals during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.
During the same period, convictions on wildlife crime decreased by over 50%.
Nature experts and conservationists are calling for several key actions to better tackle wildlife crime:
Make wildlife crimes recordable – A shortlist of wildlife offences (compiled by the National Wildlife Crime Unit) is being considered by the Home Office for notifiable status. This must be approved in 2022 to bridge the crippling wildlife crime data gap and help target resources effectively.
Ensure effective police and prosecutor action – Staff with expert training on wildlife crimes are critical to effectively building and prosecuting a case against these criminals. Also key is early coordination between the CPS and police on cases and ensuring prosecutors have adequate preparation time for cases. Ensuring police and CPS training and process reflects this is vital.
Produce sentencing guidelines – Unlike most other crimes, the Sentencing Council provides no sentencing guidelines for wildlife crimes. This must be rectified to ensure sentencing consistently reflects the seriousness of these crimes and acts as a deterrent to criminal activity.
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Stay safe, stay well, stay strong, stay connected with nature
Stay safe, stay well, stay strong, stay connected with nature
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