Using the criminal law to protect the environment: Possibilities and problems
Date
2025
Authors
Toole, K.
McCormack, P.
van Uhm, D.
Beillevert, M.
Williams, C.
Cassey, P.
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Journal article
Citation
People and Nature, 2025; 7(11):3057-3066
Statement of Responsibility
Kellie Toole, Phillipa McCormack, Daan van Uhm, Marie Beillevert, Claire Williams, Phillip Cassey
Conference Name
Abstract
1. Global biodiversity has declined rapidly in recent decades, and existing laws have proven insufficient to protect the environment from harm. 2. There is no ‘silver bullet’ to remedying species population declines and extinctions and loss of ecosystems, but criminal law could be a crucial tool. 3. We present an interdisciplinary perspective (conservation biology, criminal law, environmental law and green criminology) to propose that criminal law can and should be engaged more in protecting the environment. 4. However, the criminal law is a captive of its own anthropocentric history. We must reconsider criminal law's core principles, informed by scientific methods and green criminological perspectives, to more effectively protect nature.
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© 2025 The Author(s). People and Nature published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of British Ecological Society. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.