As part of the Back British Farming campaign, rural crime is a priority for the NFU all year round as it continues to harm farm businesses and rural communities.
In May this year, we led a campaign calling on newly elected PCCs (Police and Crime Commissioners) to make tackling rural crime a priority. More than 19,000 NFU members and members of the public added their name to the letter.
Our regional teams meet with more than 35 PCCs to highlight local issues and action needed. Fly-tipping, sky lanterns, hare coursing, dog attacks and theft were all high up the agenda.
The NFU continues to fight for a consistent and coordinated response to rural crime across government and police forces that reflect its impact on rural communities and was pleased to see its asks recognised in the government's rural crime strategy.
NFU work so far:
Fly-tipping
There are more than one million incidents of fly-tipping per year according to 2023 government statistics, with even more unreported on private farmland.
- Over 35,000 people signed a letter to Police and Crime Commissioners in 2021, demanding action on fly-tipping
- More than 25,000 people signed an open letter to local councillors seeking an increase in the issue of fixed penalty notices to deter fly-tippers and promotion of the household duty of care to help householders know their responsibilities.
Sky lanterns
Our petition, calling for a total ban of sky lanterns in England and Wales has been signed more than 100,000 times.
- We launched a petition so that NFU members, farmers and the public can show their support for a total ban in England and Wales. It has now been signed more than 100,000 times and was acknowledged in the Eunomia research and consulting report, commissioned by Defra, which described the NFU as ‘vociferous campaigners against sky lantern releases’. Defra is now reviewing an impact assessment on sky lanterns.
- 17 leading farming, environment, animal and fire organisations signed a letter sent to Environment Minister Rebecca Pow MP in April 2021, calling for stronger legislation to ban sky lanterns nationally.
- In November 2022, we wrote to then Environment Minister Trudy Harrison MP to reiterate our ask for a national ban on sky lanterns. She responded to inform us that Defra had commissioned research into the harms caused by sky lanterns.
- A year later, we wrote to Defra again, calling for the research findings to be shared given the ongoing support from the public calling for a ban.
- To date, 200 councils have already banned sky lanterns thanks to our campaign work since 2013.
Dog attacks
Research from NFU Mutual has revealed that farm animals worth an estimated £2.4m were severely injured or killed in dog attacks across the UK in 2023, up nearly 30% compared to the previous year.
- Former MP Thérèse Coffey launched a Private Member's Bill prior to the 2024 general election. The Dogs (Protection of livestock) Bill would have increased police powers to crack down on irresponsible dog owners whose pets attack livestock. Following the general election, new MP Aphra Brandreth has re-introduced the Bill.
- The Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill was introduced in Parliament in the Autumn of 2021. This Bill did not make it past report stage.
- Virginia Crosbie MP(Ynys Môn) showed great support for this issue, and tabled a Bill in Parliament in July 2021 which sought to introduce changes to legislation to help tackle livestock worrying.
- Over 20,000 people signed an NFU petition, calling on newly elected Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) to implement changes to legislation to prevent dog attacks on farm animals. Virginia spoke about the petition to show support for the Bill she tabled in Parliament.
- Building on work with the Countryside Code, we teamed up with ‘the dogfather’ Graeme Hall to remind dog owners to keep their dog on a lead. This message was seen by 816,000 people.
Equipment theft
GPS unit thefts alone rose by a staggering 137% to an estimated £4.2m according to NFU Mutual's 2023 rural crime report.
- The NFU has been working together with Greg Smith MP and a number of other organisations on the Equipment Theft (Prevention) Act, which was made into law in July 2023.
- A key focus for the NFU is the implementation of the secondary legislation available under the Act.
- While the Act currently covers ATVs and quad bikes, there is a pressing need to extend the measures to include GPS units, which have increasingly become frequent targets for theft.
- Introducing a mandatory register for ATVs and other high-value equipment, alongside defined standards for immobilisers, forensic marking and tracking technologies to support stolen machinery recovery, would be crucial steps toward deterring organised crime gangs targeting farming businesses.
