The NWCU is a strategic police unit, based in Livingston in Scotland, which collates intelligence and enforcement activity about wildlife crime across all British police forces. Recently it has run major operations concerning badger-baiting, the smuggling of reptiles and amphibians, and the persecution of raptors: no fewer than 633 birds of prey, from golden eagles to buzzards, were illegally poisoned between 2002 and 2011.
The Green MP Caroline Lucas said yesterday: "With wildlife crime on the increase, the refusal of ministers – particularly those at the Home Office – to recognize the severity of the problem and safeguard the NWCU is completely unforgivable."
