Caroline Lucas, the Green Party MP for Brighton Pavilion, is urging the Government to commit to the long term funding of the National Wildlife Crime Unit.

Lucas has joined the campaign group World Animal Protection in warning against the scrapping of the unit which is dedicated to supporting wildlife crime investigations and fundamental to providing and analysing national wildlife crime intelligence across the UK. [1]

The NWCU’s future is in doubt as their funding comes to an end in March 2016. In 2014 they were granted 2 years funding; but previous to that they had to fight to stay open every single year. This endless cycle of uncertainty has been a huge drain on their resources. [2]

Lucas said:

“The Wildlife Crime Unit do an essential job in protecting animals and preventing the illegal trade of endangered species. If we were to lose the world-leading expertise of this unit it’s highly likely that we’d see a fall in the number of wildlife crime cases being successfully investigated and prosecuted.

“This unit needs long term sustainable funding so that it can concentrate on the crucial work it does. The Government must now offer a serious commitment to this unit and banish the shadow of financial uncertainty that has been lingering for far too long.”

ENDS

[1] http://www.worldanimalprotection.org.uk/take-action-wildlife-crime-unit

[2] More information on the unit available from the EAC report in 2012 http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/environmental-audit-committee/news/-announcement-of-report-publication/