§ Mrs. Curtis-ThomasTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what initiatives his Department has launched to protect wildlife(a) in the UK and (b) on Merseyside. [94653]
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienGovernment policy responsibility for wildlife conservation rests mainly with the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions (DETR). There are no initiatives on this in which the Home Office has the lead role.
The principal national initiative, overseen by the DETR, but to which the Home Office suscribes, is the Partnership for Action against Wildlife Crime (PAW), launched in 1995 and fully supported by this Government. It provides a forum for Government Departments, voluntary organisations and wildlife user groups to make a strategic contribution to the fight against wildlife crime. PAW supports a network of over 250 Police Wildlife Liaison Officers (PWLOs) in police forces across the United Kingdom, including the Merseyside Police. PAW also hosts an annual conference of PWLOs.
Enforcement responsibility for wildlife crime rests with the police and, in the case of illegal imports and exports, with Her Majesty's Customs and Excise. Local initiatives to combat wildlife crime are matters for chief police officers in the light of their overall policing priorities. Merseyside Police are active in this area, and have most recently been targeting unlawful collection of birds' eggs, with the result that prosecutions are pending. A number of persons in Merseyside have also been cautioned for wildlife offences this year.
To assist local enforcement efforts across the country, PAW has made a number of recommendations, including that the courts be given the option, at present unavailable to them, of imposing custodial sentences for wildlife offences. The Government will be implementing this as soon as a suitable legislative opportunity arises.