The Scope of the Inquiry
1. On 4 April 2004, the Sub-committee on Environmental
Crime announced that it would be holding an inquiry into wildlife
crime. This is the third in a series of four inquiries which
have focused on environmental crime and has been preceded by the
inquiries into Environmental Crime and the Courts[1],
and Fly-tipping, Fly-posting, Litter, Graffiti and Noise[2]
.
2. In its press release, the Sub-committee expressed
a desire in particular to hear responses to the following questions:
- What is the scale and impact
of wildlife crime?
- Is the framework of national and European law
and of international regulation robust enough to deal with wildlife
crime effectively?
- Do responsible bodies who deal with this type
of crime have sufficient resources and powers to do so? Do they
treat wildlife crime with proper and due gravity?
- Is there sufficient dialogue and co-operation
across Government and amongst various bodies responsible for dealing
with this type of crime?
As with previous Reports based upon the work of the
Sub-committee, this Report considers only the situation in England
and Wales.
3. Thirty-two memoranda were received, some of which
were supplementary to evidence sessions. Oral evidence was heard
from twelve individuals or organisations. We are grateful for
all the evidence given to the Sub-committee during this inquiry.
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