Report Animal Crime Animal Crimewatch Report Dog fighting and Wildlife Crime Huge numbers of animals are injured or killed ‘in the name of sport’. Many of these, such as grouse and pheasants, are shot but this is still legal. But there are many ways in which animals are hurt illegally in the name of sport. And we want to hear about it. You can quickly report wildlife crime and dog fighting through our confidential Animal Crimewatch service. REPORT ANIMAL CRIME The types of animal crime we want to hear about are: Report Dog fighting Dog fighting may be happening in your town. It could be two dog owners forcing their dogs to fight while they are on their leads, or it could be a more organised fight in a park late at night. It could also happen in an unused building – watch out for large numbers of people entering the building late at night. We are looking for information about anyone involved in dogfighting, the locations of dog fights, and information about any animal used or stolen for dog fighting. Report fox hunting, deer hunting, hare hunting, mink hunting or hare coursing Fox hunting, deer hunting, mink hunting, hare hunting and hare coursing are illegal in England, Wales and Scotland. However, we know that illegal hunting still takes place, and we are determined to stop it. Illegal hunts use a variety of excuses to try and claim that they are hunting legally. For instance many hunts still chase foxes and hares while claiming they are ‘trail’ hunting (not to be confused with the genuine sport of drag hunting), but we believe this is a false alibi to cover illegal hunting. They may also claim that they are using legal forms of hunting called 'exempt hunting' such as ‘flushing to guns’ which means chasing a fox out of cover to be immediately shot. In the case of stag hunting, hunts often claim they are using an exemption known as ‘research and observation’. Information we are looking for includes: Information about incidents of cruelty to hunting dogs Information about where and when hunts are meeting, including in Scotland Information about whether the hunts have been seen chasing and/or killing wild animals Details of people keeping foxes to release for hunting, or who build artificial earths to encourage foxes for hunting Report animals caught in snares Snares are wire ‘nooses’ left in the countryside to catch animals, usually foxes or rabbits. While in some cases it is legal to set a snare, in many cases, the snares are set illegally and can lead to injury and death to a wide range of animals, including badgers, hares, cats and dogs. We are looking for information about the use of snares and details of any animal caught in a snare including in Wales and Northern Ireland. Animal Crimewatch Animal Crimewatch is the League’s confidential hotline where you can report cruelty to animals in the name of sport by telephone, email or using the online form. Your information will be handled confidentially by our team of law-enforcement trained staff. The information you give us: May result in deployment of our investigators and help bring offenders to justice Supports our vital campaigning work which may help bring changes in the law and improve the lives of thousands of animals You may give information anonymously but it helps if you can leave a name and contact number or email address. We guarantee your confidentiality and our trained staff will reassure you throughout the process. We treat all information seriously and you may be eligible for a REWARD. If you see something that you think is a crime you should also call the police on 101. If you don’t report dog fighting or wildlife crime, the police don’t know it has happened. Always ask for a reference number from the police. REPORT ANIMAL CRIME