Wildlife crime and dead animals
Just as crimes are committed against people they can also be committed against wildlife. Many wildlife species are protected by law, as are the habitats they live in. Regardless of whether a wild animal has died due to human or natural causes, it's important to let us know so we can investigate or assist with the safe removal and disposal of a body to protect your health and prevent further harm to wildlife.
Wildlife crime
Some wildlife crimes involve deliberate cruelty or persecution but others are done for money or personal gain, or out of ignorance. Examples of wildlife crime include:
- cruelty to and persecution of wild animals, such as badger baiting or poisoning wild birds
- crimes involving wildlife species that are endangered or legally protected, such as disturbing bat roosts or active bird nests, or collecting wild bird eggs
- illegal trade in endangered or protected species, such as 'bushmeat', wild birds and reptiles, or the skins, eggs or pelts of wild animals
Lambeth Council works with other organisations to prevent, detect and report wildlife crime to ensure that any persons benefiting from wildlife crime are identified and prosecuted.
The Metropolitan Police, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA), the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) and other agencies work with us to investigate wildlife crimes, as well as providing advice to help prevent wildlife being harmed.
If you wish to report wildlife crime in Lambeth or are concerned a wild animal is at risk of persecution or cruelty, contact us in confidence by telephone on 020 7926 9000 or email parks@lambeth.gov.uk. You can also report wildlife crime directly to the Metropolitan Police on 020 7230 8898 or anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
Reporting dead animals
Nobody likes to find a dead animal but when you do it's important to have it safely disposed of. Lambeth Council actively removes dead animals when we encounter them on land that we own or manage.
- If you find a dead animal in a park or open space within Lambeth you can report it to us and the body will be removed as soon as possible. In order to help us, please give as much information as possible as to the type of animal, where it was found, when first seen, and if there are any signs of injury - and a contact number to call you back in case we need to check the location or find the body.
- If a dead animal is on a street or the public highway, please contact Lambeth Street Care Cleaning.
- If a dead animal is on housing land you will need to inform your local Council Housing Office.
- If a dead animal is on private land or in your garden then you will need to get it professionally removed; we can't undertake removals on non-council land.
Useful links
You can find out more about wildlife crime and what we can do to prevent it by clicking on the following links.