Standing in Parliament for Those Who Cannot

Today, Greenwich Wildlife Network volunteers stood inside the UK Parliament to speak directly to those with the power to change the law. We brought with us the reality we see on the ground - animals shot, maimed and killed with catapults in our parks and streets - and made sure their suffering was heard in the highest office of the country.

As members of the Target Crime Not Wildlife (TCNW) coalition founded by Naturewatch Foundation, a charity working to strengthen animal welfare legislation, Rae, Nicky and Chris joined the Naturewatch team for a Parliamentary drop-in session focused on the urgent need for catapult regulation. Over the next hour and a half, 45 MPs stopped by to hear directly about our experiences rescuing animals who have been horrifically injured, maimed and killed. We spoke about the growing scale of the problem and why introducing responsible, common-sense regulation is essential to protect wildlife, pets and the wider public.

We were particularly pleased to speak with local MPs Jim Dickson (Dartford), Abena Oppong-Asare (Erith and Thamesmead) and Louie French (Old Bexley and Sidcup), who attended following concerns raised by residents increasingly frustrated by the lack of police response to reports of violent attacks on animals. All expressed a willingness to engage further on the issue, alongside many other MPs who listened carefully and thoughtfully to the evidence presented.

After the session concluded, more volunteers and coalition members joined us as we travelled to Amazon’s UK headquarters. In recent weeks, Naturewatch Foundation has been attempting to engage major online retailers regarding the unrestricted sale of catapults to under 18s - lethal weapons in the wrong hands. While Gumtree responded immediately and removed catapults from sale on its platform - a responsible and laudable move, and a major milestone - Amazon had consistently declined to engage with the concerns raised.

Naturewatch collected a petition with signatures and comments from consumers troubled by the role of retailers in supplying these weapons to children, and we arrived to personally hand the envelope in at their offices.

Amazon has now committed to a meeting with Naturewatch on the issue next week.

It was a thoroughly encouraging - and admittedly intimidating - day for volunteers more accustomed to catching pigeons and ducks than walking the corridors of power and speaking to those in authority. You might think our work would be done for the day. But as luck would have it, just as we were heading home, a fox rescue cropped up 15 minutes away in Central London. So we did what we always do - we turned around and headed straight there before finally making our way home.

Because this is what it comes down to. Policy matters. Legislation matters. Retail responsibility matters. But so do the individual lives - the pigeon spinning in pain on a pavement after being shot with a ball bearing, the fox bleeding in a garden, the terrified duckling hiding under a bush. We will continue to show up in Parliament, on doorsteps, outside headquarters, and in muddy parks at dusk if we have to. Until common sense prevails, until accountability is real, and until animals are no longer treated as target practice, we will always show up.