Following our launch last week of a new fund to help support police investigations in to the illegal persecution of birds of prey, we’re delighted to see that the Northern England Raptor Forum (NERF) has stepped forward and made a contribution.
NERF is a collaborative, self-funded organisation representing voluntary raptor field workers whose expert monitoring provides the statutory agencies with vital data on species’ distribution, abundance and conservation status. NERF understands the need for this fund only too well.
A quote from NERF’s press release:
‘Unfortunately every one of our member groups has experience of raptor persecution within their own study areas. Many of us have also been involved in cases where the search for forensic evidence, vital to support the case, was not pursued because of lack of funding thereby resulting in the investigation being abandoned prior to trial. We believe that this initiative will make a very significant impact on the investigation of raptor related criminal cases‘.
Steve Downing, NERF’s Chair said:
“As a former Wildlife Crime Officer I fully appreciate the complex decision making process that is used to assess competing applications for funding the forensic analysis of potential exhibits. Every application for forensic funding is justifiable, however it is understandable why some crimes take precedence over cases of raptor persecution. This raptor related forensic analysis fund is a very valuable tool that will make a tremendous difference in the battle to detect wildlife crime and Wild Justice is to be commended for introducing the scheme“.
To read NERF’s press statement in full, please visit here
If anyone else would like to contribute to this new fund, please get in touch: admin@wildjustice.org.uk and enter ‘Raptor Forensic Fund’ as the subject header.
Thank you
