Wild Life and the Law
International Laws usually supercede UK laws and ofter provide stronger penalties. Usually, the principals of the international laws are incorporated into the correesponding UK laws.
C. I. T. E. S. is the principal international law. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species is a UN Treaty signed and enforced by more than 150 countries. It applies to both animal and plant life; to live or dead specimens; and to the derivatives of protected species. The CITES convention is incorporated into European and British Wild Life Laws.
European Laws extend the protection of UK wildlife laws to all species that live in, or visit, the European lands of member states.
The main UK laws are
- The Wildlife and Countryside Act, 1981
- The Protection of Badgers Act, 1992
- The Wild Mammals Act, 1996
- The Hunting Act, 2004
Since devolution, different laws may apply to Scotland and Northern Ireland in some cases.
Offenders are frequently sent to prison or
heavily fined.
Property used in the offence may be confiscated in some cases.
Enforcement
DEFRA have been instrumental in encouraging all 42 Police
Forces in the UK to nominate a Wildlife Crime Officer. Laws are only
effective if they are enforced. This requires the willingness of the
police to investigate reports and the willingness of the CPS to
prosecute.
Both of these can only happen if there is good evidence
This is where the RPLG , and other agencies, come in. We have experienced investigators who can gather evidence and present it to the police as the start of an investigtion. To do this, we need information!
If you see something suspicious, make a note of the details
and report it, either to us or to the police directly.
Even small, seemingly trivial, items of information can be a
piece of a bigger jigsaw.
