Nature Conservation: Crime

Andrew Rosindell
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many convictions for offences related to birds were made under Part 1 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 in each of the last five years.

Huw Irranca-Davies
The number of defendants found guilty at all courts for bird-related offences under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, in England and Wales, 2003 to 2007 (latest available figures) are shown in the following table:

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|                                                                                         |Number|
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|2003                                                                                     |33    |
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|2004                                                                                     |64    |
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|2005                                                                                     |38    |
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|2006                                                                                     |103   |
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|2007                                                                                     |28    |
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|Source:Evidence and Analysis Unit—Office for Criminal Justice Reform, Ministry of Justice|      |
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These data are on the principal offence basis. The figures given in the table on court proceedings relate to persons for whom bird-related offences under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 were the principal offence for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences, the offence selected is the one 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.

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.

Court proceedings data for 2008 will be available in the autumn of 2009.

Andrew Rosindell
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the Government’s wildlife crime priorities are for 2009-10, with particular reference to species subject to illegal trade.

Huw Irranca-Davies
The Government’s wildlife crime priorities for 2009-10, agreed by senior Government and enforcement officers, are badger persecution, bat persecution, species covered by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), freshwater pearl mussels, poaching, and raptor persecution.

The CITES species issues currently being focused on are caviar, ivory, ramin timber, tortoises and traditional medicines.