A new report compiled by the Wildlife and Countryside Link says the only way of knowing the true scale of wildlife crimes is for the government to add them to the noticeable register

FOUR in five people convicted of wildlife crimes have also committed, or are linked to, serious offences, according to research.

It has long been understood that those who abuse animals are also likely to be violent towards humans.

But for the first time analysis has found how "harm to animals perpetuates to humans" with the government now urged to increase the level of punishment.

The National Wildlife and Crime Unit compared the records of 128 people convicted of a wildlife crime in 2024 against the criminal record information held in the Police National Computer database.

Nearly all were male (96%)

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