The RSPB: News: Future brighter for wildlife crime fighters

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Last modified: 23 January 2013

Hanging on to the hen harrier as an English nesting bird is a priority for the National Wildlife Crime Unit

Image: Graham Catley

The RSPB has welcomed the Home Office?s and Defra?s agreement today to fund the National Wildlife Crime Unit (NWCU) for another year, beginning on 1 April 2013.

The Home Office and Defra have committed ?136,000 each for the next financial year, securing the future of the unit. The current funding arrangement was due to run out at the end of March.? No decisions have been taken for funding the unit beyond 31 March 2014.

Vital

RSPB Conservation Director Martin Harper said: ?The continued support for the unit is great news. The illegal killing of birds of prey is threatening the security of some species, with the hen harrier facing imminent extinction in England as a nesting species. The unit is a vital part of the UK?s fight against wildlife crime, and we?re relieved these crime fighters have been given a further year to provide the protection our wildlife deserves.?

The NWCU is jointly funded by the Home Office and Defra, with other contributions coming from the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO), ACPO Scotland, the Scottish Government and the Northern Ireland Environment Agency.

The NWCU leads the fight against serious and organised wildlife crime such as: rhino horn theft; ivory smuggling; and bird of prey persecution across the UK. The strategic unit collates intelligence and provides specialist skills and expertise to enforcement agencies including the Police and UK Border Agency. One hundred and thirty-eight MP?s have signed Early Day Motion 603 calling for Defra and the Home Office to maintain its current level of funding with long-term certainty beyond March 2013.

The work of the NWCU was warmly praised by the House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee in its recent inquiry into wildlife crime and is widely recognised as punching above its weight. The Committee called on the Government to maintain the current level of funding, with longer-term certainty, to allow the unit to focus on its core duties.

Key role

Martin Harper said, ?Both Richard Benyon at Defra and Jeremy Browne at the Home Office have played a key role in securing this funding for a unit which provides great value for money. For a relatively small amount, the UK has a unit with a world-wide reputation for delivering an effective response to the threats that criminals pose to our wildlife. What we now need is for its long-term future to be secured so that it can make strategic long-term plans.?

How you can help

Find out more about the RSPB's work to protect our wild birds from criminals

Read the Investigations blog

Source: http://www.rspb.org.uk/news/338941-future-brighter-for-wildlife-crime-fighters

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