This Tory government’s record on animal and wildlife protection is appalling. As I mentioned in my previous post on the NWCU, the funding for it is absolute peanuts, and axing it will make no significant difference in balancing the books. The Tories’ economic policies affect disproportionately the most vulnerable. It’s clear whose side they are on!

Please sign petition to save the NWCU. And also sign here. Thank you.

Government failure to confirm funding for police unit responsible for investigating crimes against British wildlife condemned

Chris Packham, the naturalist and TV presenter, has said it is “disgusting and disappointing” that the UK’s wildlife crime agency faces closure in six weeks unless the government renews its funding.

The national wildlife crime unit (NWCU) was established in 2006 to investigate offences including rare-bird egg theft, deer poaching, the trade in endangered species, hare coursing, illegal taxidermy and cruelty to wild animals.

George Osborne’s spending review, announced in November, did not confirm government funding for the agency beyond the end of March and it is now expected to close within weeks.

The body, which receives the bulk of its funding from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the Home Office, was told shortly before Christmas that a decision would be made about its future before the end of January – but it still hasn’t heard anything.

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