05 May 2013   Posted by greyheron

“Drug gangs are making a new fortune – by smuggling body parts of endangered animals into Britain. The sick trade is netting crime bosses £100 million a year, second only to drug trafficking in profitability. Customs officers have seized 80 tonnes of rare species parts in just three years concealed in ship containers, vans, luggage […]

 05 May 2013   Posted by greyheron

‘Lancashire police are calling on residents in rural areas to report suspicious activity in a bid to protect wildlife in the county during lambing season. Wildlife crime officer Mark Thomas said: “We know at this time of year most species are producing young and are at their most vulnerable so I’m appealing for the public […]

 01 May 2013   Posted by NWCU4

“THE links between animal crime and organised criminality has been highlighted after 300 wildlife incidents were recorded in Fife last year. Councillors recently discussed a report on the impact of this sort of criminality and its links to serious and organised crime at a meeting of the Police transition committee. Chair of committee Councillor Gavin […]

 30 Apr 2013   Posted by greyheron

“Christie Alldridge, the UK’s first dedicated online wildlife crime intelligence officer, explains why the illegal trade in endangered species has moved to the internet

 30 Apr 2013   Posted by greyheron

“The internet is a natural starting point for many when looking to buy something unusual. If an item can’t be found in local stores, we’re often told that “you can probably find it online.” The multi-billion dollar illegal global wildlife trade is testament to this. Elephant tusks, polar bear pelts, pangolin scales, rhino horns, adult […]

 21 Apr 2013   Posted by greyheron

“A VORACIOUS alien predator has been found in Scotland for the first time after they were bought into the UK illegally. The National Wildlife Crime Unit has recovered about a dozen marbled crayfish from home aquariums at three properties in the Central Belt, Scotland on Sunday can reveal. Marbled crayfish, thought to be native to […]

 09 Apr 2013   Posted by greyheron

“A new DNA database is being set up to hold genetic information on all the rhinoceros horn in the UK in an attempt to stop its theft and trade. It’s probably not every day that a museum will get a couple of drill bits in the post accompanied by a polite request to bore a […]

 09 Apr 2013   Posted by greyheron

“Police Scotland Highland and Islands Division along with partners in the National Wildlife Crime Unit acknowledge the sentence given to Keith Liddell today in what was possibly the largest wildlife crime case in Scotland involving the illegal possession and trading of rare birds’ eggs. The intelligence led operation, which saw the home of Liddell being […]

 07 Apr 2013   Posted by greyheron

“IF ever a species deserved to be obliterated from the countryside, it is the selfish, puerile but highly dangerous egg collector. Their population may have dwindled to the same numbers of the many rare birds they have persecuted over the years, but these obsessive characters still pose a continuing conservation threat the length of the […]

 07 Apr 2013   Posted by greyheron

A 64-year-old man was arrested on Thursday on suspicion of a number of wildlife offences. It follows a police investigation that was assisted by officers from Natural England and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB). The bodies of over a dozen birds of prey were recovered from the Holt area. The man […]