2025-2028 NPCC Wildlife & Rural Crime Strategy
Yellow-legged Asian Hornet Week 1st - 7th September 2025
Operation EASTER launches for the 28th year
Bat Conservation Trust launch Halloween video to celebrate bats 🦇
Operation Badger re-launch for National Badger Day!
Craig Fellowes awarded MBE for services to wildlife
Operation EASTER ~ 27 years of stopping egg thieves
Man who abseiled down cliff to take peregrine falcon eggs jailed
Newport company fined for the demolition of Bat Roost
Cheshire man sentenced after admitting animal cruelty offences
2,114 seizures of endangered animals and timber in major international law enforcement operation
Natural England prosecutes developer for breaching Bat Mitigation Licence
Vale of Glamorgan man prosecuted for destroying valuable wildlife habitat
Wildlife detectives take part in new Forensics Training programme
PSNI investigate death of two white-tailed eagles
PSNI launch Operation SUBRISION to deter and detect rural and wildlife crime
Lewisham man convicted for illegally exporting ivory
Operation EASTER launched for 2023 - stopping egg thieves and egg collectors
Monmouthshire company fined for damaging an important Great Crested Newt habitat
12 Oct 2016
Posted by NWCU4 
The 16th October 2016 marks 10 years since the National Wildlife Crime Unit (NWCU) was officially launched. The NWCU is a stand-alone Police Unit dedicated to tackling wildlife crime. Historically, police response to wildlife crime investigation has been varied. Some forces provided an excellent service, whilst the service provided by others ranged from adequate to […]
Read more → 06 Oct 2016
Posted by NWCU4 
An 81-year-old retired army colonel has been fined more than £1,000 after destroying the habitat of a protected newt when he had work carried out on his land. John De Benham-Crosswell pleased guilty to damaging the breeding site and home of great crested newts after draining a lake on his property. By law, any work […]
Read more → 04 Oct 2016
Posted by NWCU4 
A woman has been sentenced at Highbury Corner Magistrates’ Court for trading in endangered species without certification. Dovile Vaitkeviciute, 31 (23.11.84) of Trinity Avenue, Nottingham has today, Thursday, 29 September, been sentenced to six months’ imprisonment, suspended for two years. She was further sentenced to 180 hours of unpaid work and given a £685 fine. […]
Read more → 13 Sep 2016
Posted by NWCU1 
A 26 year old antiques dealer has been sentenced to 7 months imprisonment for trading illegally in elephant ivory. Shane David BALL of Derwent Avenue, Workington, who had been to stand trial in January, changed his plea to guilty at Carlisle Crown Court today (13th Sept 2016). The case was the result of an investigation […]
Read more → 13 Sep 2016
Posted by NWCU1 
The National Wildlife Crime Unit has relocated and is now based in Stirling. The unit was previously based at Livingston, but this building is now due for redevelopment, which meant the NWCU had to relocate. The office move, which took place on 2nd September 2016, resulted in some major IT problems but the office based […]
Read more → 13 Sep 2016
Posted by NWCU6
A man and a woman have today, Tuesday, 13 September been fined over £3,000 after they were found guilty of importing and offering endangered tortoises for sale. The investigation began when officers from the Met accompanied the City of London Animal Health Inspector to an address in Shackleton Court, London, W12 on 29 April 2015 […]
Read more → 09 Sep 2016
Posted by NWCU6 
A Royal Estate owned by the family of Prince William and Harry’s former nanny has suffered one of Britain’s worst ever wildlife poisonings. Mystery poisoners have been blamed for the “mass killing” of birds of prey on the land belonging to the parents of Tiggy Pettifer (formerly Legge-Bourke), who cared for the princes when they […]
Read more → 08 Sep 2016
Posted by NWCU6 
A dealer who tried to sell an elephant tusk at Christie’s has been spared a fine after claiming he was “misled” by their antiques experts. Barry Collins, 64, said he was given the “completely wrong advice” when he took the ivory to be offered for sale by the prestigious auctioneers. Experts at Christie’s assessed the […]
Read more → 07 Sep 2016
Posted by NWCU4 
A Norwich woman has been involved in the illegal sale of tiger parts to a buyer in China, it has emerged. The discovery of a package containing four tiger paws and a tail by Border Force officers at Heathrow Airport’s World Distribution Centre sparked an investigation which would lead back to Norwich. The package containing […]
Read more → 07 Sep 2016
Posted by NWCU4 
A cutting-edge initiative to help tackle fisheries related crime has been launched by the Angling Trust in partnership with the Environment Agency. ‘Angling Alert’ is a web-based communication tool that will provide anglers and the wider public with information on fisheries crime quickly – by text or email. Funded by rod licence income, Angling Alert […]
Read more →