Stopping Badger Crime: In conversation with Kevin Kelly, Head of the National Wildlife Crime Unit
- Badger Trust Staff Team
- Feb 9, 2024
- 15 min read
Chief Inspector Kevin Kelly is Head of the National Wildlife Crime Unit (NWCU) and has been a strong ally to Badger Trust for many years, helping to enforce and advise on all badger crime related issues.
Kevin also chairs the UK Badger Persecution Priority Delivery Group and has dedicated his 20 years of police service to tackling wildlife crime. You may have seen Kevin in the news when he won an award from the RSPCA in 2019 for his Outstanding Contribution to tackling wildlife crime or when he was recognised as Wildlife Law Enforcer of the Year in 2017.
Kevin has joined us here at Badger Trust to discuss what drives his passion to protect our native wildlife, and to share his hopes for the future protection of wildlife.
Join us for the latest in our series of talks that look into the private, courageous lives of badgers.
The role of the National Wildlife Crime Unit is to oversee and help police forces implement the UK wildlife crime strategy, working closely with advisory bodies and government agencies to support enforcement. Can you tell us more about this role and how the information that you uncover and deliver can help lead to better enforcement of wildlife protection laws?
The NWCU play an important role in the delivery of wildlife crime policing. Our job is to deliver the national strategy across the UK in the domestic priority areas and we also provide the UK’s response to Policing the Illegal Wildlife Trade (IWT) which is a global priority. We Police locally, nationally and internationally. We have an overview of wildlife crime, focus on the incidents that carry the most risk, and work with forces to deliver a suitable policing outcome. So in short, we’re one of the few policing units that will tell you what the problem is, where it is and who's doing it. But we also give you the tools, resources and people to fix the problem.
Our team comprises investigators to help drive enforcement, intelligence officers to help bridge intel gaps and develop suspects and analysts who will develop problem profiles and carry out detailed analyses of priority area demand. I describe the NWCU as an enabling service, i.e. we get the job done!
Keeping our profile high is key to what we do. There are just over 800 Wildlife Crime Officers (WCOs) in UK Policing out of 142,000 officers, so getting our name recognised internally is harder than getting external recognition. The more cops that know of us and what we can do leads to a better service.
Policing is a little like a production line and resources change so it’s a continual task to keep current. 800 officers may not seem a lot but that’s up from 550 in the last two years since the NWCU have taken responsibility for delivering training. It’s still only roughly 0.6% of policing that are trained and we deliver our service by consent. We cannot compel police action to be taken so showing we have the experience and expertise, being a trusted and capable resource is a key component of our service.
Your team has been recognised as one of the world’s best wildlife crime policing units. Can you tell us more about how this came to be, and what makes your team stand out?
In 2021 the United Nations Office on Drugs and Serious Crime inspected and released a report into UK wildlife crime policing and the illegal wildlife trade. A review of the NWCU and scrutiny over our output and delivery plans have shown value for money and led to stakeholder confidence and investment in the NWCU. In 2021 there were 11 of the team and now there are 22. When I work with other international enforcement bodies they are always staggered by the small team and non-permanent small budget.
What makes us stand out is our value for money. Take our capability and then look at the UK demand, what really makes us stand out is the ability to get things done to the standard we do. Of course, we can’t do it all but when we’re realistic about what we can do you will see that we provide value. My team are some of the best in the world at what they do. No one can take that away from them.
We have a fit-for-purpose strategy in place at the moment and we have a delivery model that aligns the resources and specialisms within the team to each priority area. We provide analytic and intelligence support to the Priority Delivery Groups and oversee their national policing operations which drive a policing outcome. Within our specialisms across the team, we have other skills to offer such as expert evidence, the NWCU has subject matter experts, and we have the best and most highly trained drone pilots in the UK so our ability to deploy and search vast land spaces quickly is unparalleled. We have a training arm that provides training to police forces free of charge and we also have some of the most experienced investigators around.
This team, this blend of experience, and the passion they have to get the job done make us stand out.
Tell us what inspired you to dedicate your life to the protection of animals and wildlife, especially at a time when 20 years ago the enforcement of wildlife crime was perhaps not taken as seriously.
I have always had an affinity for animals – those who know me will say I prefer animals to people sometimes. I guess in my early days as the son of a slaughter man I soon worked out that animals feel pain and have emotions. This really shaped my life and as a child that didn’t really fit in. I could see early on there were good and bad people.
Growing up on a council estate in Leeds, I would see the bad people exploiting others and committing crime. I was able to see first-hand the correlation that people who abuse other people also abuse animals. So all my life I’ve fought for the safety of animals. As a child, saving up all my pocket money to win the goldfish at the local travelling fair once a year – to save them. Or planning the heist of a dog that was continually abused.
When I joined policing I was caught in the whirlwind of traditional crime but it didn’t take long for me to find what I do best: wildlife crime. This was ever-present in my first policing role at Selby in North Yorkshire and hare coursing wouldn’t even get a police response. I paid way to that and arrested three prolific hare coursers. The community were fascinated by this and the outpour of support was un-measurable. Again, the next shift, two more in the cells and I thought this would be the making of me. Roll on the following shift when I was called into the Chief Inspector's office, thinking I was going to be commended… But in fact, I was told under no uncertain terms that if I didn’t go after proper criminals I wouldn’t be here next week.
Did it stop me – no way!
You have been acknowledged by the RSPCA for your outstanding contribution to leading investigations into badger digging and badger baiting, amongst other wildlife crimes, and to leading training programmes to better tackle these crimes. How did it feel to receive this acknowledgement?
It’s always good to have recognition for your hard work but these things are just small pieces of a bigger picture. I’ve always been a 'get the job done' type and always say, at least do something instead of nothing, and I firmly believe in sharing the learning and success. I’m also never scared of looking into things when they don’t go right. Being reflective and also not being scared to admit that you’ve not got something right is a key ingredient to lineal success. Success relies on failures. Leaders lead and care about how well others do, not just about themselves and their next promotion or commendation.
I don’t mind an awards ceremony but I prefer to present and give recognition than to receive it because it shows that lots of people are doing lots of good work. This has informed my approach as national lead. I very much incentivise people to be their best and recognise the most modern and efficient ways of tackling wildlife crime.
The NWCU hosts a conference each year to showcase the good work that goes on across the UK. We used to have a dinner and a speaker at this part of the event but I have changed this to an awards evening, recognising teams, individuals and commitment. This promotes a culture of recognition and shows that those who often give their time and go above and beyond their role requirement have a place in policing and they feel valued. I also do this at a less formal level throughout each year.
I have produced an NWCU commemorative coin with the help of our funders and I have taken time to write over 50 letters to officers, volunteers, members of the public and charities to acknowledge their work and just to let them know they are valued and I do see what they do. Each letter is written personally by me and reflects the individual’s contribution. I quite often do this in my spare time as another way to give back to others. It’s a good way to pass the time on a long journey!!
Can you tell us about some of the big wins that you have had in terms of enforcement of the law around badger crimes?
I have had many, through leading change locally and nationally to highlight convictions and recognition. However, my biggest win personally was becoming the head of the NWCU, it was a tough journey to get here seeing three promotions and often doing more than your day role. I am incredibly proud of overseeing the North Yorkshire Police (NYP) response to wildlife crime, where a colleague and I were trusted to design and implement the NYP rural task force, they were recognised as the most proactive policing team in the UK in 2017 and commended at a number of levels, including receiving an international policing award.
This led me to take on the chairship of the Badger Persecution Priority Delivery Group (BPPDG) in 2018 where I was able to lead an area of wildlife crime nationally. Leading the BPPDG I was able to work with partners and enforcers to raise the profile of badger crime. We did this by profiling the top ten offenders and showing how they were linked to other serious crime areas, including domestic violence.
I also created the first PDG tool kit for the BPPDG. Having a tool kit that officers can access at crime scenes and seek out best practices led to better investigations and within a short period of time we started to see custodial sentences for badger criminals become a regular thing with Humberside Police and North Yorkshire Police (my former force) leading the fight.
What is your biggest challenge currently around badger crime and how achievable do you think it is to overcome this?
Having the recognition that this is serious.
The biggest challenge is getting it recognised as a priority. As with most wildlife crime this tends to fall to the bottom of the pile as policing works on a threat and risk basis, i.e. we send our resources to the most vulnerable, those most at risk, and incidents where people could be harmed the most. So the key word there is ‘people’. We often deal with victims who can’t speak for themselves – our animals. On that explanation alone you can see, when a force has multiple 999 calls, serious incidents, public events and limited resourcing, why wildlife crime falls low down.
What we do is show why it’s critical to tackle wildlife crime at the source. Look at badger baiting, for example; our analytical work profiles the UK's worst offenders and we can show what other areas of more traditional crime, serious and organised crime that badger offenders are linked to. When we frame a crime type like that we have opportunities to enforce against wildlife crime and also disrupt or enforce other serious and organised crime offenders. It’s by showing the importance of getting action in this area of policing that gives the best overall response.
It takes years to change cultures but we’re making good progress within wildlife crime and we intend to keep the momentum going. It’s about creating an environment where everyone has a role to play. On the whole, people stand against wildlife crime but equally, it’s understanding we all have a role to play.
Badger persecution is one of the six national wildlife crime priorities. Just how big is this issue nationally, and why do you think it is such a police priority in terms of wildlife crime?
It’s a big issue and with wildlife crime, we only know what we see because our victims can’t speak up. I worry we have an iceberg effect in wildlife crime policing and we must keep fighting for the voiceless. This is a national issue and a national priority.
Priorities are established through a method we call MORiLE – Management Of Risk in Law Enforcement. This assesses demand, incidents across the UK, public impact, species impact as well as other areas. Badger crime is, and I am sure always will continue to be, a priority. There are so many areas to badger crime, we have barbaric baiting and attacking with dogs. Sett and habitat destruction, whether by development or when sett stopping increases within the hunting seasons. While criminals keep doing this then it will remain a priority.
What differences have you noticed around badger crimes in the 20 years that you have been in the police force?
The biggest difference is that it's spoken about like it is a crime type. Cops understand that badger crime is their job and the majority of incidents get a suitable response. This hasn’t always been the case. I remember my first ever badger dig, I was at home on a Sunday and I took a call (on the landline) and was told there were three males at a possible dig, what should they do? I said lock them up and I’ll be there in an hour. I spent the whole night dealing with prisoners and evidence and 12 months later we got a conviction under the Hunting Act as the suspects entered a guilty plea before trial. Looking at this now, we more often than not get a police response and the initial response usually informs the case outcome.
We want prosecutions under the Protection of Badgers Act as criminals can go to prison. Because of the increase in Wildlife Crime Officers, often a force will have a WCO on duty who can advise or attend the crime. It’s not lost on me that we don’t always get it right and can always do better, but we have grown a network of enforcers who can and want to act. That’s change for the good.
In your role leading the Badger Persecution Priority Delivery Group, what were your biggest challenges regarding improving the reporting of badger-related crimes and raising awareness?
I lead and guide all PDGs as Head of NWCU. I was the chair of the BPPDG from 2018 to 2021 when I took over the NWCU and now this is chaired by DC Aaron Flint from Lincolnshire Police. Aaron has taken this group from strength to strength and it’s a delight to see him growing and developing in this role. The group is in safe hands with Aaron, he’s a tenacious detective.
Recording crime is our biggest challenge. In England nearly all wildlife crime is non-notifiable, this means police forces don’t have to report crime figures to the home office for statistics. Wildlife crime is intrinsically hard to truly account for due to this issue and we rely on police that do count figures, charities, and NGOs to help build the picture. I have been working with Badger Trust via the Wildlife and Countryside LINK to lobby the Home Office to change this and count the most prominent wildlife crimes. We are still awaiting a decision. If we can count the crimes we can align our resources properly.
Badger digging and badger baiting are brutal animal welfare crimes to both badgers, and the dogs forcibly involved. It is hard for most of us to understand any kind of satisfaction from this behaviour. From your years dealing with criminals involved in these activities, what do you think is the motivation to conduct such awful crimes?
Everyone has their reasons, or probably excuses, to justify their criminality. I’ve heard every excuse in the book. I’ve heard some abusers try to justify it as ‘sport’, that they are doing it because their grandad did it, or that they think the species in question is vermin. I’ve heard suspects say they abuse animals so they don’t abuse people, I’ve literally heard it all.
I tell myself we’re not dealing with normal nice people. We deal with cowards who want to harm and abuse helpless animals. Most animal abusers are not nice, compassionate people. I wouldn’t even call them animals because I love animals. I don’t love animal abusers. I’ve always liked interrogating people who have done wrong. There is nothing I like more than to articulate to an abuser why there is no such thing as a justified rationale for motivation. Just cowardly excuses.
How do badger crimes fit into the bigger picture of wildlife crime in the UK? Do you think these crimes reflect a deeper discord amongst ourselves, and also our connection to nature and our place within it?
I’d like to really lift the lid on this but it becomes quite sensitive. What I can say is that an alarming number of the most prolific badger offenders and wildlife crime offenders are linked to more serious harm crimes such as domestic violence and organised crime, such as 80% of our most dangerous hare coursers are members of, or are linked to serious and organised crime groups. The statistics speak for themselves.
You have courageously been very active and outspoken in your fight against animal crime and your pursuit of better animal welfare, have you ever felt reluctant to dedicate your life to this profession?
My job isn’t glamorous. If anyone thinks it is then they don’t see what I do. Getting to where I am now has cost me dearly over the years. In the early years, it cost me financially as I had to do everything for nothing (by choice). And as I have grown to the top spot it has cost me more than just financially. Colleagues, friends, and even family. Working in this role has also limited my Police career. Yes, I have taken some promotions but I have also limited my opportunities. Doing this role is so far removed from policing, that I knew when I took it that when I am done here I am done in policing, so it's probably cost me an early retirement and a nice pension too. But my purpose is more important than my purse. When you realise that, I have nothing to lose, and there are a number of core reasons I have dedicated my life to believing in my purpose and doing the role I do.
I do get told I am outspoken but I am always professional and I see wildlife crime in a context that others wouldn’t get to see. I guess that I am the only single point of truth for all things wildlife crime. No one sees what really goes on like I do. The crime, the incidents, the intelligence and the efforts that the good people do to uncover it and the efforts that the bad people do to hide it. Lots of people see lots of different aspects of this but no one sees it in its entirety, so yes, I speak out, I’m not outspoken, I just speak my truth. Very few people argue back because my experience and opinions are based on fact.
What is your advice to a member of the public that believes they may have witnessed a badger crime, or any wildlife crime?
If it's in progress then 999 if it's not ongoing then 101. I understand this can be sensitive so people want to report this to Badger Trust but minimum case – REPORT IT – to someone who can do something. There’s a correlation between the number of incidents that don’t go right or fail, to the incidents that are not reported timely. I'd rather have an incident reported and the accountability be on us than not have it reported at all.
What do you think that we as the public can do more to better protect badgers?
Protecting our badgers is an everyone job. So be aware of them. Check in (safely) to make sure they are safe. Anything suspicious, not right or out of character, seek some advice and if it goes into the crime or suspected crime then report it.
Importantly, keep yourself safe. Without the few that will keep them safe, their future fates will be inevitable. Also, consider your legacy. I am in a position where I am developing wildlife crime officers and looking for the next head of NWCU for when I retire…. Who are the next crop of badger guardians?
Do you see a day where badger crime is a thing of the past?
I think we can expect a gradual decline. Am I one of those who believes this will disappear? Only when we have no badgers left.
I know that sounds a hard line but I see the reality of badger crime. As long as there are badgers there will be badger persecution.
What we need to do is add another dynamic to this and say as long as there are badgers, there will be badger crimes. There will also be badger guardians and I for one will stop at nothing to fight daily against this.
Download the FREE Badger Watch App
Badger Trust, alongside researchers and developers from the University of Exeter, has created a new app Badger Watch to help tackle badger crime.
Available for Android and Apple devices, the app is a crucial tool kit for anyone concerned about badger crime. The Badger Watch app provides users with clear guidance on what to do if they encounter or suspect a badger crime has taken place.
The Badger Watch App is a user-friendly, one-stop-shop of information on the law and what to do when witnessing badger crime, all quickly accessible on your phone.
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.
Help us campaign for tougher sentences
You can join our PBA30 campaign and add your voice to our call for better protection for badgers. We wrote to the Defra Secretary of State to ask for extended sentencing for badger crime. This would mean sentences for crimes such as badger baiting and shooting would present a real deterrent to badger abusers.
You can write to the Defra Secretary of State and your MP too. The more letters they receive, the more chance we have of bringing about change, and as quickly as possible.
