Met Police announces reduced focus on wildlife crime
Born Free is deeply concerned about cuts to the Metropolitan Police’s wildlife crime unit, at the forefront of the fight against illegal trafficking as well as crimes against wildlife across the London area.
In a poorly judged move, the role of the Metropolitan Police’s small but extremely effective Central Wildlife Crime Unit is to be reduced, with detectives previously attached to the unit being redeployed to focus on local crime problems.
The news comes despite approaches by wildlife groups to the Metropolitan Police Commissioner and the Mayor of London, urging them to reconsider.
Reacting to the news, Born Free’s Head of Policy Dr Mark Jones said: “With the world’s wildlife in crisis, and with wildlife crime increasing across the globe, including here in the UK, the news that the Metropolitan Police plans to disband its highly effective Wildlife Crime Unit is very disturbing.
“Wildlife crime, which is often conducted by organised criminal gangs, damages wildlife conservation efforts, results in extreme animal suffering, and ultimately adversely affects us all. We need to tackle it head on by investing in specialised, intelligence-led enforcement. The Central Wildlife Crime Unit has been critical to these efforts, and its effective dissolution can only make things easier for those who would exploit our diminishing wildlife for illicit financial gain. We urge the Met Police Commissioner and the Mayor of London to think again.”
The Central Wildlife Crime Unit was formed in 2004 and, despite struggling for resources over the years, has been highly successful in pursuing wildlife crimes in the capital, working closely with the National Wildlife Crime Unit and the Wildlife Trafficking team at UK Border Force.