LOTHIAN and Borders has become the first police force in Scotland to appoint a full-time officer to combat wildlife crime. PC Jim McGovern, 52, will co-ordinate investigations and complaints about wildlife crime and develop the work on law enforcement already in place.
He will also support six part-time divisional wildlife crime officers and will act as a point of contact with partnership agencies such as the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, the Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and estate and land- owners across the Lothians and Scottish Borders.
PC McGovern said: "We’ve had a number of poisoning cases across the Scottish Borders - one of which resulted in the biggest single case of its kind in Scotland.
"Animals are regularly put in harm’s way for what people call sport.
"There are currently a number of ongoing investigations into organised poaching, hunting with dogs, illegal snaring, badger crime and much more," he said.
"This role will allow the force to dig deeper into these crimes, where at present we are only scratching the surface."