Wildlife crime
Investigation — Authorised Professional Practice
Summary
This guidance is intended for all police officers and staff involved in investigating wildlife crime. Such crimes should be handled by a trained Wildlife Crime Officer (WCO), and if a WCO is unavailable, another officer can initiate the investigation while coordinating with a WCO. Wildlife offences are governed by various legislation, and the page provides insights on the most common offences and key considerations for investigators. The guidance aligns with the UK government's wildlife crime priorities based on the National Wildlife Crime Unit's assessments and advice from the Wildlife Crime Conservation Advisory Group. While police can typically enforce wildlife legislation, some enforcement responsibilities rest with other agencies like Natural England, the Welsh Government, and the Environment Agency. The page includes resource links to assist officers throughout the investigative process.
Key principles
- 1Wildlife crimes should be investigated by a trained WCO.
- 2Another officer may initiate investigations if a WCO is unavailable.
- 3Investigators should consider legislation relevant to wildlife offences.
- 4The NWCU provides advice and support for investigations.
- 5Police can enforce wildlife legislation, but some cases involve other agencies.
Defined terms
- Wildlife Crime Officer (WCO)
- A trained officer responsible for carrying out wildlife crime investigations.
- National Wildlife Crime Unit (NWCU)
- An agency that provides advice and resources related to wildlife crime.
- CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna)
- An international agreement aimed at ensuring that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival.
Full guidance
This page is from APP, the official source of professional practice for policing.
This guidance is for all police officers and staff when investigating wildlife crime.
These crimes should be investigated by a trained wildlife crime officer (WCO). Most forces will have at least one WCO whose role it is to carry out wildlife crime investigations. If a WCO is unavailable to carry out the initial investigation, then another officer should do so, liaising with a WCO at the earliest opportunity. The force should then decide who should continue the investigation.
Wildlife offences are currently covered under a range of legislation. These briefing notes provide an investigator with advice on the more common offences which they may encounter and highlight issues they should consider during an investigation.
The briefing notes are based on the UK government wildlife crime priorities that are identified through the National Wildlife Crime Unit (2022) Strategic Assessment(opens an external website in the same tab) (set every two years) and advice taken from the Wildlife Crime Conservation Advisory Group(opens an external website in the same tab) that supports that process.
The National Wildlife Crime Unit (NWCU)(opens an external website in the same tab) can provide further advice and support, as can organisations that support particular plants or animals, such as the Bat Conservation Trust(opens an external website in the same tab) and Kew Gardens(opens an external website in the same tab) .
In the majority of cases, the police service can enforce relevant legislation. In some cases, however, this power falls to other statutory agencies, such as Natural England(opens an external website in the same tab) and the Welsh Government(opens an external website in the same tab) (for poisoning incidents) or the Environment Agency(opens an external website in the same tab) (for unlicensed fishing).
The following briefing notes will assist investigations from initial contact in call handling centres through to the completion of the court file:
poaching (deer, fish and hare coursing) * freshwater pearl mussels * CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna) * raptors
See also the Crown Prosecution Service Wildlife Guidance(opens an external website in the same tab) for prosecutors.
Some of the above resources are under development and will be made available as they are approved.
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Read the full APP guidanceSource: College of Policing — Authorised Professional Practice · Crown copyright, licensed under Open Government Licence v3.0. Summary fetched 2026-06-27.