Yesterday (07/03/2016), at Derby Crown Court, His Honour Judge John Burgess made the first ever Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA) order for offences relating the destruction of a bat roost. A company, Isar Enterprises Ltd, was fined £3000 and ordered to pay £2000 costs. In addition, Judge Burgess made a Proceed of Crime Act order of £5737 against the company, which is the first time a POCA order has been made of an offence of this nature.

In 2010 Isar Enterprises Ltd of North Road, Birmingham purchased some vacant properties on Dale Road, Matlock with a view to turning them into dwellings. As a condition of planning permission the new owners had to commission a survey for bats, which was conducted in March 2011. The survey identified a Brown long-eared bat roost in the loft space of one of the properties. All 18 species of bats that occur in the UK and their roosts are protected under the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulation 2010. Following the survey an ecology report was produced. The report identified the presence of bats and pointed out that work on the roof and loft space could only take place under licence and if appropriate mitigation was in place.

In July 2012 the ecologist who had produced the report noticed that the roof of the building that had contained the bat roost had been replaced. As a result, a Wildlife Crime officer from Derbyshire Police and an officer from National Wildlife Crime Unit visited the scene. They found that the loft space that had contained the roost had been studded, plastered and converted into a new flat. They also found that points of entry to the roost had been filled. The roost had been destroyed. The officers interviewed 54-year-old Hargurdial Rai, who was one of the two directors of Isar Enterprises Ltd. He denied having any knowledge of bats having been identified at the building. Evidence was later produced that he had had in fact commissioned and paid for the survey.

Both Rai and Isar Enterprises Ltd, pleaded not guilty to destroying a bat roost, but were convicted following a trial at Chesterfield Magistrates Court in April 2014. Following the conviction Magistrates committed the case to Crown Court for a POCA hearing. In the meantime, both Rai and the company appealed against the conviction.

At Derby Appeal Court yesterday Isar Enterprises Ltd abandoned the appeal and the CPS withdrew the case against Rai as an individual, so the conviction against him was quashed. The company was fined £3000 and ordered to pay £2000 costs. In addition, Judge Burgess made a Proceed of Crime Act order of £5737 against the company, which is the first time a POCA order has ever been made for the destruction of a bat roost.

Following the case, a spokesperson for the Bat Conservation Trust said, “It is our view that this case is the most significant conviction for bat crime ever recorded. Not only is it the first occasion where such a case has been heard in the Crown Court but to our knowledge it is the first time that a proceeds of crime application has been heard in relation to any wildlife crime not involving the illegal trade in endangered species. A strong message is being sent to developers to the effect that they cannot, in future, expect to benefit from criminal behaviour”.

Chief Inspector Martin Sims, Head of the National Wildlife Crime Unit said, “This is a landmark case and we will explore opportunities to use the Proceeds of Crime Act in future cases, people who act outside the law cannot be seen to profit”.