2022 marks the 30th anniversary of the Protection of Badgers Act 1992 a landmark piece of legislation in Badger protection. During the 3 decades since the passing of this legislation, sentencing related to animal welfare has moved on and there is a glaring inequality for crimes against Badgers.
It is time to catch up.
Under the Animal Welfare (Sentencing) Act 2021, people committing the most serious animal cruelty crimes to a domestic animal in England and Wales can face prosecution with up to 5 years in prison. Similar animal cruelty committed against a wild Badger can only be given a maximum of a 6 month prison sentence under the Protection of Badgers Act 1992.
The Badger Trust is marking the 30th anniversary of the Protection of Badgers Act 1992 with a new campaign .... see here.
The campaign calls on the Government to bring sentencing under the Protection of Badgers Act 1992 up-to-date to end sentencing inequality and strengthen Badger protection.
The Badger Trust has written to the DEFRA Secretary of State, George Eustice, calling on the Government to:
Extend the maximum sentence for convictions under the Protection of Badgers Act 1992 from 6 months to 5 years, bringing it into line with the Animal Welfare (Sentencing) Act 2021, in the same way as they would for the abuse of a dog used in the same crime.
Make Badger persecution notifiable to the Home Office so that the real level of crime can be accurately assessed, reported on and tackled. At present wildlife crimes are not recorded in this way and there are no official national statistics. Increasing sentencing would, by default, make a crime under the Protection of Badgers Act 1992 a notifiable offence.
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