Naturewatch Foundation Calls for Urgent Action on Wildlife Crime at 2025 Wild Summit
London, UK – Thursday 11 September, 2025 – Today at the Wild Summit 2025, animal welfare charity Naturewatch Foundation launched their latest report, titled Policing Wildlife Crime: Make Wildlife Count. The report reveals serious gaps in the way wildlife crime is recorded, investigated, and prosecuted across England and Wales. Naturewatch Foundation is urging the government and police forces to take immediate action to address these issues.
According to the report, wildlife crime is being systematically overlooked and under-recorded, leaving thousands of wild animals unprotected. This is a disturbing pattern that needs urgent attention. The report draws on Freedom of Information (FOI) responses from 33 police forces and a detailed survey of 128 frontline officers and call handlers.
Among its most alarming findings are:
● Over 4,400 wildlife crime incidents were recorded between August 2023 and October 2024. However, this number is believed to be significantly higher due to poor and inconsistent recording practices.
● 78% of recorded cases resulted in ‘No Further Action’.
● Only 16% of officers surveyed had experience with wildlife or animal welfare prosecutions.
● 90% called for more face-to-face training, and 81% believe wildlife crime should be made notifiable.
● 87% do not believe wildlife crime is dealt with robustly by the courts.
In light of these findings, Naturewatch Foundation has sent an open letter to DEFRA, the Minister for Policing, and all Chief Constables and PCCs across England and Wales, calling for urgent reform.
Jim Clark, Wildlife Crime Campaign Manager at Naturewatch Foundation, said: “The report highlights a disturbing pattern: wildlife crime is consistently treated as a low priority, despite the significant impact it has on biodiversity, public safety, and the rule of law. Inconsistent crime recording also means we still do not know the true scale of the problem, and if we cannot count it, we cannot combat it.”
“This lack of urgency not only enables wildlife crime to persist unchecked but also signals to offenders that these crimes carry little consequence.”
The report also calls for making wildlife crime notifiable, which would allow for consistent national data collection, better trend monitoring, and stronger enforcement. Naturewatch Foundation is also calling for a commitment from DEFRA to review and strengthen wildlife protection legislation, the establishment of a standardised, mandatory wildlife crime recording framework, and clear prioritisation of wildlife crime from police forces.
Furthermore, Naturewatch Foundation is urging for investment in specialist training and resources for frontline officers and adoption of standardised crime recording practices to ensure consistent, transparent, and usable data.
With campaigners, policymakers, academics, businesses, and charities gathering today at the Wild Summit, Naturewatch Foundation hopes this report will stimulate urgent conversations to ensure the UK’s wildlife receives the protection it desperately needs.
Jim adds: “If we are serious about tackling the biodiversity crisis and building a society that respects all life, wildlife crime must be taken seriously at every level of policing and government.”
The full report, Policing Wildlife Crime: Make Wildlife Count, can be found on the Naturewatch Foundation website.
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