Publication Of Wildlife Crime In Scotland 2022

20th April 2024

The Chief Statistician for Scotland has released figures for Wildlife Crime in Scotland 2022. The statistics show that recorded wildlife crime was down by 7% from 308 offences in 2020-21 to 286 offences in 2021-22.

The report shows that there were noticeable decreases in recorded crime for fish poaching (from 110 to 49 offences) and hunting with dogs (from 44 to 13 offences).

Increases were seen for birds (from 29 to 74 offences) and "other wildlife offences" (from 43 to 73 offences).

The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service received 77 cases relating to wildlife crime, with fish poaching being the most common category (23 cases). Criminal proceedings statistics in 2021-22 show that 18 people were proceeded against for wildlife crimes - a return to a more typical level after the very low numbers seen in 2020-21 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.