UK wildlife crime laws a 'mess', MPs say

The Guardian , Thursday, October 18, 2012
Correspondent : Adam Vaughan
Britain's laws to tackle wildlife crime – such as the poisoning of birds of prey and illegal trading of species online – are a "mess", an influential committee of MPs said on Thursday.

The report from the environmental audit committee comes amid fears over the funding of the police's National Wildlife Crime Unit (NWCU), which is due to expire in March next year and has not yet been guaranteed by the government.

While laws to protect wildlife in the UK exist, the committee acknowledges, their power is undermined as they are "scattered across various statutes and regulations". The Association of Chief Police Officers (Acpo) told the committee "conservation legislation is, in our view, badly in need of consolidation".

Several laws, such as the Night Poaching Act of 1828 and the Game Act of 1831, are archaic, for example, while the main legislation under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 is difficult for non-wildlife specialist lawyers to use. The Law Commission is currently consulting on wildlife laws, which it calls "a legal landscape that is out of date, confused and often contradictory."

Prosecution of cases, such as the poisoning of peregrine falcons, is also hampered by a lack of knowledge in the Crown Prosecution Service and "inconsistent sentencing by judges and magistrates", the report says. "We have an issue with continuity with the CPS because there aren't specialist prosecutors for wildlife," Stephanie Pendry, enforcement programme leader at the wildlife trade monitoring NGO Traffic, told the committee.

If successfully prosecuted, most wildlife crimes in the UK incur a maximum £5,000 fine and/or a maximum sentence of six months.

Joan Walley, the committee's chair, said: "Police officers dealing with wildlife crime are having to wrestle with legal arrangements that are almost Pythonesque in their absurdity; like the requirement to summon a vet to take a sample from any endangered species entering the country – even if it happens to be a piece of mahogany furniture.

"Wildlife protection law in the UK is in a mess after being patched up too many times in an effort to keep pace with offending. The law needs to be consolidated and the courts need to be given clear sentencing guidelines."

Uncertainty over the long-term funding of the NWCU is also undermining its ability to carry out enforcement, the committee heard, as it is constantly under review. Nevin Hunter, the head of the unit, said: "… A lot of the challenge that I have is to constantly look at securing the future funding, which takes me away from that day-to-day role of trying to address wildlife crime."

The unit is relatively small, with a staff of just 15, and its £397,000 funding largely split between the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), the Home Office and the charity the World Society for the Protection of Animals. Its funding for 2012-13 has already been cut 10% against 2011-12.

Heather Sohl, senior species policy officer for WWF-UK said: "Today, the committee has rightly acknowledged that the UK has made good progress in the last eight years, but to build on success we need the government to recognise that the NWCU needs long-term funding to help stop wildlife crime."

Lord Henley, the then parliamentary under-secretary of state at the Defra, said in August that he could not "make any positive guarantee" over the unit's funding, and even if a decision was taken to cease funding, "other funds [are] going into policing and dealing with these matters".

Martin Harper, the RSPB's conservation director, said in 2011 there were 100 reports of poisoning incidents of birds of prey, highlighting the need for action: "We are delighted that the environmental audit committee shares our concerns about wildlife crime – particularly those affecting birds of prey. We urge the government to heed this advice and we trust it will now take the lead on consigning these acts to history. The committee has clearly signalled that the game is up for wildlife criminals and it's time for a step change in wildlife crime enforcement."

A Defra spokeswoman said: "The government takes the issue of wildlife crime seriously. That is why we fund the National Wildlife Crime Unit, who work to bring these criminals to justice. We will consider the committee's recommendations carefully and will respond in December."

In a statement, the Environmental Investigation Agency, said it welcomed the report and was: "strongly supportive of the committee's call on the government to urgently address failings in current UK wildlife protection legislation. In terms of international wildlife crime, EIA is glad to see the committee urging the UK government to exert 'robust diplomatic pressure' in seeking the development and enforcement of wildlife law at the next Cites meeting in March 2013."

 
SOURCE : http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/oct/18/wildlife-crime-laws-mess
 


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