02.02.26
The Labour government’s recently published Police Reform White Paper raises several valid and necessary points. Improving accountability, rebuilding public confidence, and strengthening professional standards across policing are goals few would argue against. However, while the ambition is clear, the White Paper falls short in explaining how some proposals will work in practice, particularly in specialist areas of law such as wildlife and animal welfare protection.
Drawing on my experiences as a wildlife crime-trained police officer, I believe one such proposal of the introduction of police “licensing” for officers has several flaws. In principle, this could be a positive step. Yet the White Paper provides little detail on how licensing would ensure that officers are sufficiently trained to understand and apply bespoke, often confusing, technical legislation, or how specialist knowledge would be recorded, retained, and recognised operationally.
This lack of clarity is especially concerning when viewed against the complications of many wildlife and animal welfare laws.
A Complex Legal Framework
Wildlife and animal legislation in the UK is extensive and fragmented. Key statutes include the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, the Animal Welfare Act 2006, the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017, the Hunting Act 2004, and invasive species regulations. A huge array of devolved legislation and statutory instruments are also a minefield to keep track of.
Each of these has specific offences, exemptions, and enforcement powers. Many interact with one another and require specialist knowledge to apply correctly. Without structured training and clear accreditation, enforcement risks being inconsistent or ineffective.
If police licensing is to be meaningful, it must explicitly recognise specialist competence. Otherwise, it risks becoming an inert “tick box” exercise rather than a mechanism that improves enforcement outcomes in complex areas of law.
If It’s Not Recorded, It’s Not Protected
Another key concern is the absence of any clear framework for recording specialist skills. If officers receive training in wildlife crime or animal abuse indicators, how is this logged? How is it refreshed? And how is that expertise retained when officers move roles or forces?
Wildlife crime already suffers from inconsistent recording and under-prioritisation. Evident in the findings of our Policing Wildlife Crime report, without robust systems for recording specialist knowledge, any gains from training are easily lost, further weakening enforcement opportunities.
Wildlife Crime Slipping Down the Agenda
Naturewatch Foundation is increasingly concerned that wildlife and animal protection are being pushed further down the policing agenda. Wildlife crime is not victimless. It causes serious harm to communities and is often linked to organised criminal activity.
Yet it is often treated as marginal rather than integral to policing. The absence of explicit commitments to wildlife crime enforcement within the White Paper risks reinforcing this marginalisation.
The Overlooked Link to Domestic Abuse
As a charity campaigning to protect victims of domestic abuse and the animals that are often used as tools of control and coercion, Naturewatch Foundation is well-versed in the link between animal abuse and human harm.
Threats or acts of violence against animals are recognised indicators of coercive and controlling behaviour. When police lack training to recognise, record, and respond to animal abuse, safeguarding opportunities for human victims are missed.
This is not a niche concern. It sits squarely within public protection and early intervention.
Reform Must Be More Than Words
The Police Reform White Paper offers an opportunity for genuine improvement. But without clear mechanisms for specialist training, recorded competence, and accountability, particularly in areas such as wildlife crime and animal welfare, its impact will be limited.
Licensing officers who are not equipped to understand and enforce bespoke legislation risk creating the illusion of reform rather than its reality. Wildlife crime, animal abuse, and their links to wider criminality must be recognised as core policing responsibilities.
Naturewatch Foundation urges policymakers to ensure that wildlife and animal protection are not sidelined, but embedded at the heart of modern, effective policing.
