Huge thanks are due to all our supporters and friends whose generosity ensured that the Wildlife Crime Detection Dogs Appeal hit target in less than 20 days!
Announced on the Skydancer Day live broadcast on the 10th of May, after a fascinating interview with DI Mark Harrison of the National Wildlife Crime Unit alongside dog handler Kevin and detection dog Gem, the appeal was launched the next day, Sunday 11th of May. The appeal set an ambitious fundraising target of £10,000, all ringfenced for the training and deployment of detection dogs in the fight against wildlife crime.
By Saturday 31st of May, just 20 days later, the fund total broke the £10k barrier, and now stands at the truly astonishing total of £10,595, thanks to the generosity of 387 friends and supporters of the Hen Harrier Action, among them supporters of campaigning organisation Protect the Wild, who published a guest post to promote the appeal to a wider audience.
"A gamechanger in the battle against wildlife crime"
“On behalf of the UK National Wildlife Crime Unit, I would like to say a huge thank you to Hen Harrier Action and to everyone who donated to their fund-raising appeal. Not only was the target reached, but it was achieved in 3 weeks, which shows how strongly the public feel about this sort of crime.
We believe that the dogs are a game changer in the battle against wildlife crime, and they will significantly improve our chances of recovering evidence during our investigations. Not only that, but they also act as a deterrent, when would-be offenders know that these dogs could also indicate on anything and anyone that has come into contact with a victim or satellite tag, it makes them stop and think twice.
Other policing techniques used in wildlife crime such as forensics, and ballistic science have come a long way over the last few years and the biggest challenge has always related to actually finding the evidence so that these techniques can be applied. The evidence is often out in remote areas, hidden or buried and I have witnessed first-hand how good the dogs are at locating items that we just couldn`t find before.
I am really excited to see how the work with Conservation K9 Consultancy develops and the impact that this will have wildlife crime, particularly crimes involving Hen Harriers.
Thanks to everyone who donated we will be able to fund deployments, train more dogs and really push the boundaries with investigating this type of crime.”
DI Mark Harrison, National Wildlife Crime Unit
"Increasing the chances of securing justice"
“We at Conservation K9 Consultancy are absolutely thrilled and deeply grateful to see the £10k target reached in under three weeks—it’s a powerful show of public support for the use of detection dogs in tackling bird of prey persecution.
These funds will directly support the training and deployment of specialist detection dogs to locate evidence linked to raptor crime, including satellite tags and remains of persecuted birds such as hen harriers.
With these dogs, we can significantly enhance police efforts by supporting the search for key evidence in suspected incidents—helping build stronger cases and ultimately increasing the chances of securing justice in areas where raptor persecution remains a serious issue.
Thank you to everyone who contributed—this support brings real hope for stronger protection of our birds of prey.”
Louise Wilson, Conservation K9 Consultancy
