皇冠体育app

皇冠体育app NWCU is at the forefront of the UK鈥檚 fight against the growing illegal wildlife trade. Through effective intelligence-led enforcement, it targets key criminals engaged in serious and organised crime.

Announcing the funding, Richard Benyon said:

Wildlife crime is a very serious issue with organised gangs using the proceeds from illegally traded items like rhino horn to fuel other illegal activities. It鈥檚 right that a specialist unit supports the police in bringing these people to trial. 皇冠体育app funding for another year will mean the unit can continue to bring criminals to justice and tackle the illegal wildlife trade both at home and abroad.

皇冠体育app Wildlife Crime Unit has been instrumental in the UK in combating the illegal trade in rhino horn, which now has a blackmarket value in Asia as high as gold.

During 2012 the NWCU:

• provided direct assistance in 175 cases;
• supported a further聽74 cases and provided direct input into 13 ongoing enforcement operations involving聽wildlife and other criminality within the UK;
• collated and assessed 970 intelligence logs helped with a number of the 57 cases known to have been brought;
• supported a Europol project focussing on illegal trade in rhino horn; and
• supported Interpol projects on internet聽trade in ivory, on the illegal trade in birds and on illegal trade in endangered species and tigers particularly .

Defra funds 拢136,000 of the NWCU budget; it is additionally funded by the Home Office, who will match Defra funding with a further 拢136,000.

Notes

皇冠体育app NWCU is a strategic police unit, based in Livingston in Scotland, which collates intelligence and enforcement activity about wildlife crime across all UK police forces. Recently it has run major operations concerning badger-baiting, the smuggling of reptiles and amphibians, and the persecution of raptors.