I have been asked to reply.
Information on the number of defendants found guilty at all courts for offences under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, Protection of Badgers Act 1992, Deer Act 1991, Control of Trade in Endangered Species (Enforcement) Regulation 1997, and the Conservation of Seals Act 1970, in England and Wales from 1998 to 2007 (latest available) is shown in the following table.
The statistics relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences the principal offence is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe.
Data for 2008 will be available in the autumn of 2009.
Found guilty 1998 70 1999 70 2000 64 2001 96 2002 64 2003 63 2004 96 2005 66 2006 130 2007 56 1 These data are on the principal offence basis. 2 Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. 3 Includes the following Statutes: Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 Protection of Badgers Act 1992 Deer Act 1991 Control of Trade in Endangered Species (Enforcement) Regulation 1997 Conservation of Seals Act 1970 4 Staffordshire police force were only able to submit sample data for persons proceeded against and convicted in the magistrates courts for the year 2000. Although sufficient to estimate higher orders of data, these data are not robust enough at a detailed level and have been excluded from the table. Source: Evidence and Analysis Unit—Office for Criminal Justice Reform—Ministry of Justice