Bishop of St Albans asks about animal welfare prosecutions

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answers on 21st March 2024:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government how many prosecutions for poaching in England were successful under the Game Act 1831, the Hunting Act 2004 and the Night Poaching Act 1828 in (1) 2019, (2) 2020, (3) 2021, (4) 2022, and (5) 2023.

Lord Bellamy (Con, MoJ): The Ministry of Justice publishes information on prosecutions, convictions, and sentencing outcomes for poaching offences. The latest data available, until year ending June 2023, can be obtained through the Outcomes by Offence data tool in the following link: Criminal Justice System statistics quarterly: June 2023 – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)(opens in a new tab).

A further breakdown of the published data is required to extract figures specific to poaching offences under the Game Act 1831, the Hunting Act 2004, and the Night Poaching Act 1828. Prosecutions and convictions for all years requested, from January 2019 until data is available up to June 2023, has been provided in Table 1 on a principal offence basis. The full calendar year for 2023 will be available in the next update of the Outcomes by Offence tool, expected in May 2024.

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The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government how many prosecutions for stealing protected wild birds’ eggs in England were successful in (1) 2019, (2) 2020, (3) 2021, (4) 2022, and (5) 2023.

Lord Bellamy: The Ministry of Justice holds information on prosecutions, convictions, and sentencing outcomes for summary offences in relation to nests and eggs of birds under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (HO offence code 19002). The latest data available, until year ending June 2023, can be obtained through the Outcomes by Offence data tool in the following link: Criminal Justice System statistics quarterly: June 2023 – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)(opens in a new tab).

A further breakdown of the published data is required to extract figures specific to stealing the eggs of protected wild birds, for the offences ‘Take eggs of Schedule 1 wild bird’ and ‘Take eggs of non-Schedule 1 wild bird’, under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. Between 2019 and June 2023, there was one prosecution and one conviction in 2021 on a principal offence basis, relating to the eggs of a non-schedule 1 wild bird. Figures for the rest of 2023 will be available in the next update of the Criminal Justice Statistics Quarterly publication, expected in May 2024.

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The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government how many prosecutions for causing unnecessary suffering to an animal were successful in (1) 2019, (2) 2020, (3) 2021, (4) 2022, and (5) 2023.

Lord Bellamy: The Ministry of Justice holds information on prosecutions, convictions and sentencing outcomes for causing unnecessary suffering to an animal, covering the period requested. The latest data available, until year ending June 2023, can be obtained through the Outcomes by Offence data tool in the following link: Criminal Justice System statistics quarterly: June 2023 – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)(opens in a new tab).

Prosecutions and convictions for all years requested, from January 2019 until data is available up to June 2023, has been provided in Table 1. These totals relate to both the summary non-motoring and triable either way classifications of the offence. The full calendar year for 2023 will be available in the next update of the Outcomes by Offence tool, expected in May 2024.

Hansard