Global Wildlife Conservation Solutions (GNCS) and partners, the wildlife and tech enthusiasts behind Nature Vanguards, believe that a key way to improve the protection of wild animals and animal welfare is through training the people who work in enforcement.

Wildlife in the UK and globally are vulnerable to many types of crimes, including wildlife poaching and trafficking, which is today a USD 20 Billion Dollar industry. Enforcement agencies such as local police forces play a critical role in preventing and responding to illegal activity involving wildlife, yet many agencies worldwide don’t have the adequate capacity, systems and knowledge to effectively identify, apprehend and prosecute offenders of wildlife laws.

To improve the protection of wild animals in the UK, we have teamed up with the UK Police’s Wildlife Crime Unit to provide digital training to their officers on a range of wildlife issues, including wildlife legislation and offences related to specific vulnerable species, including badgers and bats. We have already delivered our training on CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora), which will be made available to our advocate subscribers in the near future.

Furthermore, with funding we intend to make our training courses freely available for relevant enforcement agencies and conservation bodies. Join us at NatureVanguards to help us reach that goal.