Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to increase the range of wildlife crimes which have notifiable status.

This Government recognises the importance of tackling wildlife crime, which is why, along with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the Home Office directly funds the National Wildlife Crime Unit (NWCU) to help tackle these crimes.

The NWCU provides intelligence, analysis and investigative assistance to the police and other law enforcement agencies across the UK to support them in investigating wildlife crime. This includes supporting cases referred by Border Force to the National Crime Agency or to individual forces. The NWCU is also the UK policing focal point for EUROPOL and INTERPOL wildlife crime activity.

The NWCU uses this information to produce strategic and tactical assessments of wildlife crime across the UK. These assessments also take into consideration the views of the Wildlife Crime Conservation Advisory Group, which highlight priorities based on the conservation status of specific species and review all other non-priority intelligence to identify any emerging threats. It is these assessments which ultimately drive the operational response to tackling wildlife crime in the UK.

We will keep under review any legislative proposals to increase the range of wildlife crimes that have notifiable status. If a non-notifiable wildlife crime is reported to police it can still be investigated. Chief Constables have operational independence to tackle the crimes that matter most to their communities.