From bats and badgers to water voles and weasels, our county is teeming with wonderful wildlife and we are committed to protecting this rural environment from criminal activity.

In order to do this we have a number of specially trained wildlife crime officers across the county and we work in close partnership with a range of expert agencies.

In Norfolk, the most common crimes include:

• Crimes against birds including egg collecting and trapping.
• Damage to habitat
• Poisoning/trapping and shooting of wildlife
• Trade in endangered species
• Hare coursing
• Wild plant theft, particularly bluebell digging. This has recently escalated to be an organised crime and means that woods are stripped bare of bluebell bulbs for which the offenders will receive a great deal of money.

We work closely with the Royal Society for the Protection of Animals (RSPCA), the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), the Government’s Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), the Environment Agency, English Nature, and Norfolk Wildlife Trust.

We are also partnered with enforcement agencies including HM Customs and Excise and local contacts including Farmwatch Ltd and local gamekeepers and wardens and we are a member of the Partnership for Action Against Wildlife Crime (PAW).

But we also need your help. We need member of the public to be our eyes and ears and report any suspicious activity that might threaten wildlife in your neighbourhood.

If you have any information about wildlife crime or believe you have witnessed a crime taking place contact us on 101 or if the situation is an emergency dial 999.