Devon & Cornwall Police Lead Fight Against Wildlife Crime

World Animal Protection (formerly WSPA) has praised Devon and Cornwall Police for being one of the leading forces in the country tackling wildlife crime.

Officers have recently been trained to combat bat persecution and have made significant arrests in an investigation into dog-fighting. Devon and Cornwall are also one of the leading forces in the UK feeding intelligence back to the National Wildlife Crime Unit (NWCU). Vitally, this provides an accurate perspective of wildlife crime intelligence across England and Wales. Read the Full article HERE.

Sgt Dave Knight Retires (Finally!!)

SERGEANT DAVE KNIGHT FROM DEVON AND CORNWALL POLICE HAS FINALLY RETIRED AFTER YEARS OF THREATENING TO DO SO.

In 2013 Dave was honoured with a lifetime achievement award for his dedication to tackling wildlife crime. Dave joined Devon and Cornwall Police in 1989, and has been a wildlife crime officer for more than 15 years. He has been involved in a number of significant cases including one concerning the illegal trade of raptors. He was presented with the lifetime achievement award, which was sponsored by WWF and the Partnership for Action against Wildlife Crime (PAW), at the 25th UK National Wildlife Crime Conference. The award also recognised Dave’s work to engage staff on wildlife crime issues and his efforts to promote a clear understanding of the legislation around wildlife crime. His area of specialism is [or was] Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species the (CITES). He’s going to be a hard act to follow.   

 

Dave writes “I have been working here for over 15 years, investigating wildlife crime offences since 1998, and am very grateful to Devon and Cornwall Police for giving me the opportunity to be a wildlife crime officer. I have met many dedicated PWCO’s from across the UK and have many happy memories from the conferences I attended. I wish you all well in your endeavours to raise the profile of wildlife crime.”

 

Daves post will be filled by Sgt Paul Freestone.

Butterfly Collectors

There have been a few instances in recent years where Butterfly Conservation volunteers have encountered collectors suspected of acting illegally and have asked how they should deal with such situations. The following note provides some guidance on what the law is with regard to collecting and how to handle such encounters.

IT'S WORLD WILDLIFE DAY!!!!!

From Geneva to Tokyo and from New York to Nairobi, people around the world are today celebrating World Wildlife Day for the first time ever. Special events to mark the day are planned in Bangladesh, Belgium, China, Germany, Mongolia, New Zealand, Peru, Switzerland, Thailand, Togo, the United Kingdom and the United States of America, among others.

Overwhelming support for World Wildlife Day has come from countries across all regions and organisations dealing with agriculture, development, nature conservation and maritime matters to Customs, justice and police as well as the economy, finance, trade and tourism. Civil society groups from across the globe and many committed individuals have also expressed their enthusiastic support for wildlife as has the private sector.
For more details SEE HERE

World Wildlife Day Website Launched

With just 5 days left to the start of World Wildlife Day, the official website can be found here: http://www.wildlifeday.org/