Badgers: Animal Welfare

(asked on 24th January 2017) - View Source

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to prevent badger baiting.


Answered by
Thérèse Coffey Portrait
Thérèse Coffey
This question was answered on 30th January 2017

The Protection of Badgers Act 1992 prohibits activities associated with badger baiting. The main offences under the 1992 Act carry heavy penalties, including an unlimited fine and/or up to six months’ imprisonment. Badger persecution is one of the six wildlife crime priorities for the UK and is subject to a prevention, intelligence and enforcement plan led at Chief Constable level. The National Wildlife Crime Unit, which Defra helps fund, works to prevent and detect wildlife crime, including badger baiting.

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