§ Mr. Nigel JonesTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the meeting on 16 September 2003 between the Minister of State for Crime Reduction, Policing and Community Safety and representatives of Naturewatch; and when he expects to hold a follow-up meeting with the Chief Constable of North Wales. [157436]
§ Ms BlearsI very much welcomed the opportunity to meet representatives of Naturewatch to hear their concerns about the law and other issues in relation to badger-baiting. I made clear once again the Government's utter abhorrence of such practices. Primary responsibility for legislation on the protection of badgers rests with colleagues in Defra. I noted the concern of Naturewatch that there should be clear statistics as to the scale of abuse. Convictions of the main offences under the Protection of Badgers Act 1992, which are imprisonable, are recordable on the Police National Computer. This allows information about 1141W offences and offenders to be shared among police forces. However, since the offences in the Act are among the great number which are triable only summarily, the proposition that they should be made notifiable for the purpose of crime statistics (which focus on offences triable on indictment) presents great problems. I made it clear that I would wish to take the views of the Chief Constable of North Wales, who leads on wildlife crime matters within the Association of Chief Police Officers, on other possible options. My officials have been in touch with him, and I am anxious that this work should be taken forward as quickly as possible.