Naturewatch Foundation
Naturewatch Foundation - Advancing Animal Welfare
In the first week of December, I had the fantastic opportunity to represent Naturewatch Foundation at the 35th UK Wildlife Crime Enforcers’ Conference. Having attended this annual event in previous years, I found it an exciting opportunity to catch up with former law enforcement colleagues, new friends, and partners from other non-governmental organisations and the charity sector.
During the event, the delegates, of over 190, heard from prominent speakers who gave a broad range of stories of success, overcoming challenges, future aspirations, and innovations.
There were many superb presentations across the two days, with too many to mention, so below is a small selection.
- Deputy Chief Constable Nigel Harrison, the National Police Chief Council lead for wildlife-related crime. Nigel spoke about how the police service is keeping up with policing demands and providing our UK wildlife the protection it rightfully deserves. Nigel is keen that the police are given the correct tools for the job.
- The National Wildlife Crime Unit’s Hen Harrier task force. Detective Inspector Mark Harrison, Greater Manchester Police. Mark gave an interesting presentation on Raptor persecution; this initiative now focuses on the North of England and the illegal persecution of Hen Harriers. He highlighted the successes of working in partnership and the importance of reporting wildlife crime.
- Conservation K9 Consultancy. Here, we were treated twice with an interesting presentation about their incredible wildlife crime detection dogs and the presence of their dogs, who were a welcome addition to the delegate list.
- Lincolnshire Police gave a fantastic presentation on Operation Galileo – a national operation tackling hare coursing and how they are policing and investigating hare coursing in Lincolnshire. The team is proactive and tenacious in their work and is undoubtedly doing a lot to pursue those involved in wildlife crime.
- Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA), Mr Nick Bagshaw. Nick provided delegates with wildlife crime and environmental information from the current government. I was particularly drawn to Nick’s encouragement to campaigners like Naturewatch Foundation to keep the momentum, and things may change.
How our work supports the Wildlife Crime Enforcers’ Conference
As you can read, the content for the conference was broad and varied; however, what was particularly encouraging was the work that Naturewatch Foundation are doing to advance animal welfare and reduce wildlife crime ran through the premise of the conference content.
- Nigel spoke about the right tools for the job. Our Make Wildlife Count campaign is trying to do exactly that. As you may have read in my Hunting Act blog, we at Naturewatch Foundation are campaigning hard to ensure the current government have no excuses as to why they shouldn’t make legislative changes to ensure the reporting of wildlife crime is accurate.
- Mark spoke about working in partnership and crime reporting. Our online reporting form makes it easy for these reports to be submitted. Our tenacious investigators will leave no stone unturned to submit quality information packs to the police. This information assists the police in obtaining warrants and initiating wildlife crime investigations.
- We have worked closely with Lincolnshire police and are partners in Operation Galileo. Without fear or favour, we have, together, certainly helped make Lincolnshire a more hostile environment for those who persecute wildlife.
- And finally, DEFRA. We will continue challenging policy and encouraging decision-makers to ensure our UK wildlife is in the best hands. The police need the right tools, and with your continued support and donations, we are in a good place to keep the pressure on.
We value every donation and every show of support, whether fundraising, promoting our work, or signing our petitions. Every way helps us continue to be a voice for the voiceless.
You can find more about our Wildlife Crime work, and ways to get involved here.
Thank you.
The post Naturewatch Foundation at the Wildlife Crime Enforcers’ Conference first appeared on Naturewatch Foundation and is written by Morwenna.