Fears for animal welfare after Met axes wildlife crime unit
Fears for animal welfare after Met axes wildlife crime unit
Adam Vaughan, The Times
July 14, 2024
Only one detective constable with wildlife crime expertise remains at the
Metropolitan Police, in a blow for efforts to combat the illegal trade in
ivory.
After the Met disbanded its long-standing and well-respected Wildlife Crime
Unit (WCU) a fortnight ago, the naturalist Chris Packham led calls for the
force to devote more resources to tackling abuse of wildlife.
The police team played a key role in tackling the smuggling of illegal
animal parts and plants through Heathrow. Last year it seized thousands of
items including snakeskins and live birds at the airport as part of
Operation Thunder.
It also played a vital role in enforcing breaches of local wildlife laws,
with the housebuilder Bellway Homes fined £600,000 for destroying a bat
breeding site four years ago.
However, as part of the New Met for London plan, the WCU was abolished and
its two detectives were redeployed to local policing. One of those two
officers has subsequently handed in their notice, meaning that when they
leave there will be just one detective with significant experience in
tackling the illegal wildlife trade.
The Naturewatch Foundation, an animal welfare charity, said it was
“shameful” and “short-sighted” to abolish the unit.
“Doing more to tackle serious and organised crime is allegedly a Met Police
priority. The wildlife trade is the fourth largest international crime, so
why on earth would it axe their highly effective wildlife crime unit?” said
Kate Salmon, campaign manager at the group.
The charity is pushing the force to reverse its decision, with more than
600 people signing a petition for a rethink.
“In the whole of the Met there is now only one officer with specialism in
wildlife crime, and yet wildlife crime is a globally booming business.
Trophies, ivory, exotic animals, not to mention the UK’s own issues,” said
Packham.
The broadcaster told The Times: “We all know the police are stretched and
need more resources but I’d be happier if they stopped harassing Just Stop
Oil and devoted a proportionate amount of time to tackling the abuse of
wildlife.”
The WCU’s expertise was both domestic, such as ensuring new building
projects followed rules on adding wooded areas and measures such as bat
boxes, as well as international, focusing on stopping breaches of the
international animal and plant trade treaty, CITES.
News of the WCU being disbanded was revealed internally in the Met about a
month ago. The unit was considered crucial to tackling organised wildlife
crime, as it worked with intelligence from other government agencies
including Border Force and the National Crime Agency. It also partnered
with environmental groups including the RSPB and the RSPCA to gather
information.
While stopping the trade in illegal plants and animals smuggled into London
was one part of its work, another was tackling local issues in parks and
green areas. Incidents covered everything from pigeons being kicked in
Trafalgar Square to foxes being poisoned and people chopping down trees
where birds were nesting.
The team was also responsible for educating borough wildlife officers and
providing a central source of information on a highly specialised area.
Those with knowledge of the unit said the main consequence of it being axed
was that protection for wildlife crimes would now be less likely.
“Preventing and combating wildlife crime is a global imperative, which the
United Kingdom has fully recognised,” said John Scanlon, chairman of the
Global Initiative to End Wildlife Crime and the former secretary general of
CITES, in a letter to the Met commissioner Sir Mark Rowley.
“Dismantling the Met Wildlife Crime Unit is not only bad for London, and
the United Kingdom, but it will impact source countries, and send the wrong
message to those who are inclined to engage in wildlife crime.”
While a National Wildlife Crime Unit still exists, it has only an advisory
role and, unlike the abolished WCU, is unable to prosecute directly. It
means that the RSPCA is one of the only dedicated bodies able to prosecute
animal crimes itself.
A spokesperson for the Met said: “Detectives previously attached to the
Met’s central wildlife crime unit will now focus on assisting BCUs [basic
command units] tackling local crime problems.
“This is in line with our focus on data-driven policing to help keep
communities safe. The Met will continue to investigate any allegations of
crime involving wildlife.”