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<p>The UK Government does not hold a figure for the economic cost of wildlife crime
in this country but in the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) 2016 report:
<em>The rise of environmental crime: A growing threat to natural resources peace,
development and security</em>, estimates are made that, globally, poaching and illegal
wildlife trade is worth up to £17 billion a year; and natural resources worth as much
as USD $91 billion to $258 billion annually are being stolen by criminals, depriving
countries of future revenues and development opportunities. This includes illegal
logging and fishing.</p><p> </p><p>In terms of recording wildlife crime and measuring
trends in wildlife crime, at a UK level the Office for National Statistics publishes
police-recorded crime statistics, including statistics on wildlife crimes, where available.
However, most wildlife crimes are not categorised as notifiable so there is no obligation
for UK police forces to report on them. This makes it more challenging to measure
trends in wildlife crime and gauge its true extent. Any decision to make offences
notifiable sits with the National Crime Registrar at the Home Office. The National
Wildlife Crime Unit (NWCU), funded partly by Defra and the Home Office, gathers intelligence
from a number of organisations in addition to police forces and Border Force. This
intelligence informs a Strategic Assessment of wildlife crime in the UK, which is
produced every two years and contributes to the setting of the UK’s wildlife crime
priorities.</p><p> </p><p>With regard to the UN Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC)
report (published on 21 December 2021), the Government welcomed this piece of work
and the fact it recognised the UK's global leadership in fighting wildlife and forestry
crime. We invited the UN to undertake this analysis and we are proud to be the first
G7 country to request this assessment. We have carefully considered all the recommendations
of the report and they are informing our work to help us build on the positive progress
we have already made in tackling wildlife crime. This will include strategic engagement
with our partners that have responsibilities where individual recommendations are
concerned such as the devolved administrations, the Crown Prosecution Service, and
the NWCU. Progress has already been made in response to the report. For example, in
2022 Defra more than doubled its funding of the NWCU from a total of £495,000 over
the three previous years to £1.2 million for the three-year period of 2022-25. Additionally,
Border Force has increased numbers in its team specialising in the Convention on International
Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). Defra is not under any
obligation to formally respond to the UNODC's assessment and has no plans to do so,
but we will identify where we can act, including with stakeholders, to strengthen
the UK's approach to tackling wildlife and forestry crime.</p>
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