Wildlife Crime
Question: I have come across what I believe to be wildlife crime, where can I report it?
Answer: You should report it to the National Wildlife Crime Unit (NWCU). The NWCU is a police-led, standalone, multi-agency unit with a UK wide remit for Wildlife Crime. The Unit gathers intelligence on national wildlife crime and provides analytical and investigative support to police and customs officers across the UK. The Unit is based within the Lothian and Borders Police force in North Berwick.
The NWCU is made up of 15 staff members, including analysts, intelligence officers and investigative support officers. This includes attachments from Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs, Defra, and TRAFFIC International. The NWCU is the conduit between all agencies, domestically and internationally, that have a legal obligation or interest in dealing with wildlife crime. NWCU has had involvement with a vast array of subjects such as the trade in endangered (CITES) species, illegal taxidermy and auction sales, bat and badger-related offences, marine species, reptile smuggling, wild bird netting, egg collecting, animal health issues and dangerous wild animals.
The primary objective of the Unit is to assist in the prevention or detection of wildlife crime. The internet is a area of growing concern for the Unit, and much of it’s time is spent combating illegal wildlife trade that is facilitated by this medium.
Page Created: Mon, July 16th, 2007
Page Modified: Mon, July 16th, 2007
