Wildlife Crime Case Study

Two members of the Wildlife Crime Unit (WCU) were on patrol near Westminster Bridge when they spotted two men fishing. When approached they confirmed they were fishing for eels with the intention of consuming them. In order to protect this critically endangered species, Environment Agency byelaws state that any caught eel must be returned, alive, to the water where it was found. In this case, one of the fishermen refused to recognise he had done anything wrong, but fortunately the intervention of the WCU enabled the eels to be returned to the Thames.