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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has made an assessment of the adequacy of wildlife management and protection legislation in relation to (a) the number and (b) nature of (i) reported offences and (ii) successful prosecutions for wildlife crime.

Wildlife crime is abhorrent, and significant sanctions are already available for judges to hand down to those convicted of such crimes. Anyone who commits an offence under existing legislation can face up to a six-month custodial sentence and/or an unlimited fine. The Government’s view is that where any wild animal is killed illegally the full force of the law should apply to proven perpetrators of the crime.

One obvious difficulty for reporting wildlife crimes and successfully bringing prosecutions is they often occur in remote areas of our countryside so there may not be a witness. Defra also recognises the view of many stakeholders that the complexity and disparate nature of wildlife legislation is a factor in the challenges experienced in successfully prosecuting wildlife offences. While we have no specific plans currently, we will continue to seek opportunities to consolidate legislation to achieve more consistency and clarity. In the meantime, Defra supports the valuable work of the National Wildlife Crime Unit (NWCU). It is a principal funder of the Unit which helps prevent and detect wildlife crime by obtaining and disseminating intelligence, undertaking analysis, and directly assisting law enforcers in their investigations.