Environmental police and prosecutors in Slovakia were trained on wildlife crime

The need for specialization and training in the field of wildlife crime by law enforcement agencies has emerged as one of the key points in the successful prosecution of this illegal activity. To advance in this issue, WWF Slovakia carried out trainings and exchange sessions with environmental police officers and prosecutors this spring as part of the LIFE SWiPE project.

In cooperation with the environmental police, 60 environmental police officers from all over Slovakia participated in the trainings held on 27-28 March and 29-30 March 2023 in a small village, Lietavská Svinná, surrounded by wilderness. The training consisted of theoretical and practical parts. Experts from the environmental police, State Nature Conservancy of the Slovak Republic, Veterinary Administration and the Hunting Chamber presented the legislative aspects of wildlife crime  to participants, as well as various examples of poaching cases. 

WWF Slovakia presented the LIFE SWiPE project and the main outputs of the “National Report on Illegal Activities Targeting Protected Species”, developed as part of the project. This meeting also offered an opportunity to discuss the analysis of successful and unsuccessful cases, as well as the obstacles encountered during the detection and investigation of cases. The most interesting presentations included examples of successfully solved wildlife crime cases in the Czech Republic and examples of forensic methods presented by respected expert Mrs. Pavla Říhová from the Institute for the Environment, Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague. 

During the practical part of the training the participants carried out on-the-spot inspections of the crime under the guidance of the experts from the environmental police. The training also provided an opportunity for mutual exchange of knowledge and experience between the participants, who came from different parts of Slovakia.

On 27-28 April 2023, WWF SK participated in a meeting of the Criminal Department of the General Prosecutors Office of the Slovak Republic – experts on environmental crime,  which took place in Stara Lesna village. WWF Slovakia had the opportunity to present the broader aspects of wildlife crime as well as the main outputs of the LIFE SWiPE national report to 21 prosecutors and to discuss with them a number of problematic topics (such as recovery of damages), which will continue to be addressed in the future.  

The meeting was also attended by representatives of the CITES Executive from the Ministry of the Environment of the Slovak Republic, who presented not only the legislative aspects of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, but also very interesting examples of illegal trade in CITES species encountered during many years of practice. 

The meeting was an excellent opportunity to exchange experiences and, according to the feedback given by participants, it was enriching for all parties involved. At the end of the meeting, the First Deputy Prosecutor General stated that the shortcomings in the wildlife crime recovery system are so significant that the management of the Prosecutor General’s Office will address them after the workshop, with the aim to improve the damage recovery process and thus contribute to the reduction of wildlife crime.