THE INTERNATIONAL Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) has called for the Government to demonstrate commitment to tackling wildlife crime, following a new report. 

The report, System set to fail – prosecuting wildlife crime, was commissioned by the IFAW from criminologists at University of Gloucestershire (UoG) and Nottingham Trent University looking to document accounts of wildlife crime frontline workers.

It revealed prosecutions were often unsuccessful due to a lack of resources and training, and there were inconsistent approaches to gathering evidence, alongside an absence of a centralised recording system.

The IFAW now wants the new government to show that they are committed to taking wildlife crime seriously in the first 100 days of government by introducing new measures.

They want to make wildlife crime a ‘notifiable’ offence with mandatory sentencing and prosecution guidelines. 

Catherine Bell, Director of International Policy at IFAW, said: “This research tells the demoralising tales of enforcers often fighting losing battles against criminals enjoying a lucrative free-for-all to exploit wildlife for greed. It’s a system set to fail.

“Wildlife crime presents low risk-high reward opportunities to organised gangs, who are often linked to drugs, firearms and other violent offences.

“If the new government wants to signal their commitment to protecting nature, then this is a golden opportunity.”

Dr Angus Nurse, research lead, said: “Research consistently shows wildlife crime doesn’t get the priority or the resources it deserves. Instead, we have a system reliant on the diligence and dedication of individual enforcement staff.

“We need better systems in place to provide the necessary support to investigate and prosecute these crimes.”

The UoG’s research used in-depth interviews with police officers, prosecutors and NGO representatives involved in wildlife crime investigation and prosecution. The research has become more urgent following poll findings and previous reports. 

A Make Wildlife Matter report showed that there were increasing concerns about wildlife crimes links to organised crime, and a poll by YouGov showed there is overwhelming support for wildlife crime to be taken more seriously.

More information is available on the IFAW website.