Reward for officer fighting crimes against wildlife

A North Wales Police officer has been awarded second place in the WWF's Wildlife Law Enforcer of the Year Award.

Police Sergeant Rob Taylor was presented with the coveted award, last weekend, for his fantastic work in protecting wildlife and bringing those which exploit and profit from wildlife to justice.

Sgt Taylor, was appointed fulltime Wildlife Officer for North Wales Police at the end of 2007, and since he took up the post he has made a significant impact, having received 237 reports of offences.

His protracted investigation has led to the successful prosecution of a man who was advertising a Harbour Porpoise skull on Ebay. The seller was identified following leads through Italy and the item was recovered.

He also successfully prosecuted a company for interfering with bats found roosting, where they were fined in excess of £5,000.

Sgt Taylor has set up a National Wildlife course in North Wales to assist volunteers throughout the force with wildlife investigations.