Techniques of neutralising wildlife crime in England and Wales

Within rural studies, there have been few attempts to critically analyse crimes against nature. This paper addresses this gap in the literature by providing an analysis of farmers’ reasons for illegally culling badgers in the United Kingdom. Drawing on Sykes and Matza’s (1957) concept of neutralisation techniques, the paper shows how farmers rationalise this activity in a number of ways. Using in-depth interviews with 60 farmers in the England and Wales, the paper shows how they justify badger culling through discursive strategies that claim the activity is necessary, denying victims or the necessity of the law, condemning the condemners, and appealing to higher communitarian loyalties. However, the paper also argues that neutralisation techniques should be seen as components of a broader argument in support of rural space and identity. In the case of badger culling; neutralisation techniques combine togethe r to defend a particular rural identity and way of living. As much as they are attempts to rationalise criminal behaviour, neutralisation techniques should therefore be seen as spatial discourses, demarcating the boundaries of cultural identity and space. In conclusion, the paper discusses potential solutions to the problems of wildlife crime