‘I have been speaking in parliament this week in a debate about wildlife crime.
The transcript can be found here
It is shocking that the provision for cracking down on wildlife crime is so inadequate. Crimes such as illegal poaching, badger persecution and hunting with dogs so often go unpunished. The National Farmers Union has been instrumental in highlighting how our laws on wildlife crime must be made tougher.
Simply put, there are too little resources dedicated to protecting our wildlife and reprimanding the perpetrators of crimes against animals. As I said in my contribution to the debate, cuts to police services due to austerity are partly to blame for this lack of justice. Indeed, as my fellow shadow minister, Chris Matherson, said ‘issues such as wildlife crime, which often requires specifically trained officers, are the first to fall by the wayside’.’