Annual wildlife crime report reveals the need to make wildlife crime notifiable

42% drop in convictions for wildlife crime

Today marks the launch of the Wildlife Crime 2022 report at the House of Commons. The annual report, created by Wildlife and Countryside Link and Wales Environment Link with input from member organisations, including Badger Trust, confirms the need for better crime statistics and response by making wildlife crime notifiable. It also shows that there was a 42% drop in convictions for wildlife crime – more people are getting away with wildlife crime than ever before.

Blocking of setts in the “hunting” season still a major problem

The report shows that 600 incidents of badger crime were reported to Badger Trust in 2022, including badger baiting and the blocking of setts.

Blocking of setts is still the most commonly reported crime, and there is a peak in the “hunting” season. This indicates that, sadly, some hunts are still chasing foxes and blocking the setts to stop foxes from escaping. Badger Trust is currently supporting the League Against Cruel Sports campaign, calling for a tightening of the law to stop illegal hunting.

Inclusion of violence against animals in Online Safety Bill a step forward in the fight against badger baiters

Badger baiters who use dogs in their attacks on badgers are still prevalent across the country. Baiters are also well known for their links to other criminal activities, including crimes against humans such as theft and domestic violence. They also use social media for gang recruitment via badger baiting and for promoting the violence they have inflicted, which puts young people at risk of being exposed to and involved in other criminal activities. The inclusion of animal cruelty on the Online Safety Bill after a strong campaign from Badger Trust, Action for Primates and other animal welfare groups is a step forward in policing this area.

Badger crime must be made notifiable

Overall, the annual wildlife crime report highlights the need for badger crime, including badger baiting, to be a notifiable offence. Under current protections, police do not enter reported badger crimes into a national database. Therefore, it is currently not possible for police to monitor regional and national badger crime statistics, despite badgers being a legally protected species.

Crime monitoring largely falls to organisations such as Badger Trust, which has an online reporting centre and a specialist Wildlife Crime Officer. However, Badger Trust warns that 600 reported badger persecution cases in 2022 are just the tip of the iceberg.

Craig Fellowes, Wildlife Crime Officer at Badger Trust, said:

“Getting animal cruelty into the Online Safety Bill was a great step in raising the chances of getting more convictions for wildlife crime. Badgers continue to be persecuted by hunters, baiters and others. It’s time to make these people pay for their crimes and get more resources into convictions by making badger crime notifiable.”

Make reported badger crime a notifiable offence

Badger Trust is calling on the government to make badger crimes notifiable, which should also lead to an increase in convictions. Together, we call on the government to:

• Extend the maximum sentence for convictions under the Protection of Badgers Act (1992) from six months to five years, bringing it into line with the Animal Welfare (Sentencing) Act 2021. This means offenders would be faced with a five-year sentence for the abuse of a badger, in the same way as they would for the abuse of a dog used in the same crime. Tougher sentencing would act as a deterrent to badger baiting.

• 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.

Further information:

Read ‘Wildlife Crime in 2022: A report on the scale of wildlife crime in England and Wales’: https://www.wcl.org.uk/wcl-wildlife-crime-report-2022.asp

Direct link to report here: https://www.wcl.org.uk/assets/uploads/0/Wildlife_Crime_Report_October_2023.pdf

The annual wildlife crime report ‘Wildlife Crime in 2022’ is produced by Wildlife and Countryside Link and Wales Environment Link members. The report compiles statistics, insight and commentary from key wildlife organisations and covers a range of flora and fauna.

The report reveals that wildlife crime prosecution remains low, and convictions fell by 42% in 2022. It calls for more training for specialist prosecutors and higher availability of expert witnesses.

The report also calls for wildlife crime to be made a notifiable offence. Statistics will then be recorded at a national level to help police forces identify crime hotspots and strategically plan operations.