[Broclach]

Give these guys a break. As a retired wildlife crime officer I can tell you that most of the guys care passionately about the job but get little support from middle management. Often the only time they get to investigate wildlife crime is in their time off and on their rest days. Wildlife crimes happens in areas where there is little chance of eye witnesses and are extremly hard to get sufficient evidence together for a prosecution. There is also pressure to do their other normal duties, go to court to give evidence and a million other bits of paper to fill out. We need dedicated wildlife crime officer who are only investigating wildlife and environmental crimes. Only by putting in the resources will we make a difference to the amount of crime committed in this country. I don't know about the rest of the country but there are only four full time WCOs in Scotland supported by about another hundred who have to fit the wildife aspect of the job into their other work. Don't make the mistake that wildlife crime is not important, it is against the law and it is the duty of the police to investigate it.