Paper short abstract:

This paper will summarise the main obstacles surrounding the detection, prosecution and prevention of badger crime in England and Wales and report on the progress of a partnership between academics and NGOs to develop a badger crime reporting app.

Paper long abstract:

Badgers (Meles meles) are regarded as "one of the most demonised protected species" (Wildlife and Countryside Link 2018:5) in the UK. Despite their protection via the Protection of Badgers Act 1992, NGOs have noticed a marked increase in reports of illegal badger persecution in recent years, particularly through sett interference (Gosling 2017). The wildlife crime Conservation Advisory Group, composed of statutory conservation agencies and NGOs, finds that there is an enhanced conservation risk to the species from illegal persecution, which has resulted in badger crime being made a national wildlife crime policing priority (NWCU 2019). However, the likelihood of detection, apprehension and prosecution of perpetrators remains very low (Groling 2020). This paper will discuss the main obstacles surrounding the detection, prosecution and prevention of badger crime from the perspectives of those on the frontline of wildlife crime policing. These obstacles include resourcing, the role of perishable evidence, issues relating to the reporting and recording of crime data, and access to relevant expertise. There is a particular need for a more informed and streamlined process for crime reporting, and the paper will report on the progress of Project Badger, an ESRC-funded partnership between anthrozoologists at the University of Exeter, the Badger Trust and other stakeholders to develop a mobile crime reporting and evidence-gathering app which facilitates the three Rs of Recognise, Record and Report.