AQW 13352/17-22 Written question to the Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs what plans his Department has to address illegal badger baiting.
Asked by John Blair MLA on 25 January 2021
- Answered
- Written
- Tabled
- 25 January 2021
- Answer due by
- 9 February 2021
- Answered
- 4 February 202110 days after tabling
- Priority question
- No
Answer
Legislative protection for badgers is provided by the Wildlife (Northern Ireland) Order 1985, with enforcement carried out by the Police Service of Northern Ireland. Departmental officials assist in wildlife crime investigations, providing the PSNI technical support when requested.
My Department supports the fight against all wildlife crime, including badger baiting, through its work with the Partnership for Action Against Wildlife Crime Northern Ireland (PAWNI), a forum NIEA co–chair with the PSNI. The work of this collective aims to educate the public on what constitutes a wildlife crime and how to report it. There is a perception that such matters are too trivial for the PSNI, and that as a result, potential wildlife crime incidents are under-reported. PAWNI help run campaigns and can provide expert witness support, when required.
PAWNI includes a number of specialist sub-groups, one of which is dedicated to badgers. They recently published a report on badger-related incidents, covering the period 2016-18. It can be found at www.wildlifecrimeni.org