Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many (a) confirmed and (b) suspected criminal incidents involving Hen Harriers have been recorded in each of the last five years.

Criminal offences against hen harriers are currently not ‘notifiable’. This means police forces are not required to record and report figures on this type of crime to the Home Office for statistical and monitoring purposes. Defra therefore holds no official statistics on the number of confirmed criminal (or suspected) incidents involving hen harriers from the last five years. Any decision to make such offences notifiable sits with the Home Office rather than Defra.