Wildlife law in England and Wales is the law relating to the protection of wildlife in England and Wales. Much of existing UK law dates from pre-Victorian times. Wildlife was viewed as a resource to be used; phrases such as "game" or "sporting rights" appear. Public opinion is now much more in favour of protection of birds and mammals rather than the landowners’ interests.[1]
A "wild bird" is: ..."Any bird of a species which is ordinarily resident in or is a visitor to the European territory of any member state in a wild state but does not include poultry or, except in sections 5 and 16, any game bird."[2] It is an offence to kill, injure, or take any wild bird, to have possession of a wild bird (alive or dead) or any part of a wild bird, to obstruct or prevent any wild bird from using its nest, to take or destroy a wild bird's egg, to have possession of a wild bird's egg or any part of an egg. It is also an offence to keep or confine a wild bird in a cage or other receptacle in which it cannot stretch its wings freely.[3]
A "game bird" is a pheasant, ptarmigan, partridge, or grouse (or moor or heath game).[4] Historically the bustard was also a game bird but this has been hunted to extinction in the UK.
The law defines certain other species as vermin and landowners are permitted (or, in the case of wild rabbits, are required) to cull them.
Enforcement
Police can, without warrant, on suspicion with reasonable cause of an offence under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, stop and search; seize and detain evidence; or make an arrest.[6]
Most wildlife crimes are crimes of strict liability. There is a general defence for well-intended welfare-related actions such as taking an injured animal for tending or treatment, or for the euthanasia of a seriously injured animal that has no chance of recovery.[7]
Generally, proceedings must be brought within six months of the prosecutor coming into possession of evidence which, in his opinion, warrants proceedings. They may not be brought later than two years after the date of the offence. The maximum penalty for most wildlife crimes is six months' imprisonment and a fine of up to £5,000. The Court may also order the offender to pay or contribute towards the prosecution costs.[8]
History
Game laws
The history of wildlife management begins with the Game laws, which regulated the right to kill certain kinds of fish and other wild animals (game). In Britain game laws developed out of the forest laws, which in the time of the Norman kings were very oppressive. Under William the Conqueror, it was as great a crime to kill one of the king's deer as to kill one of his subjects. A certain rank and standing, or the possession of a certain amount of property, were for a long time qualifications indispensably necessary to confer upon any one the right of pursuing and killing game.
The Game Act 1831 protects game birds in England and Wales
The Game Act 1831 (1 & 2 Will. 4. c. 32) protected game birds by establishing close seasons when they could not be legally taken. The act made it lawful to take game only with the provision of a game licence and provided for the appointment of gamekeepers around the country.
Emergence of wildlife conservation
The late 19th century saw the passage of the first pieces of wildlife conservation legislation and the establishment of the first nature conservation societies. The Sea Birds Preservation Act of 1869 was passed in Britain as the first nature protection law in the world[9] after extensive lobbying from the Association for the Protection of Seabirds.[10]
The National Trust formed in 1895 with the manifesto to "...promote the permanent preservation, for the benefit of the nation, of lands, ...to preserve (so far practicable) their natural aspect." On 1 May 1899, the Trust purchased two acres of Wicken Fen with a donation from the amateur naturalist Charles Rothschild, establishing the first nature reserve in Britain.[13] Rothschild was a pioneer of wildlife conservation in Britain, and went on to establish many other nature reserves, such as one at Woodwalton Fen, near Huntingdon, in 1910.[14] During his lifetime he built and managed his estate at Ashton Wold[15] in Northamptonshire to maximise its suitability for wildlife, especially butterflies. Concerned about the loss of wildlife habitats, in 1912 he set up the Society for the Promotion of Nature Reserves, the forerunner of The Wildlife Trusts partnership.
During the society's early years, membership tended to be made up of specialist naturalists and its growth was comparatively slow. The first independent Trust was formed in Norfolk in 1926 as the Norfolk Naturalists Trust, followed in 1938 by the Pembrokeshire Bird Protection Society which after several subsequent changes of name is now the Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales and it was not until the 1940s and 1950s that more Naturalists' Trusts were formed in Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, Leicestershire and Cambridgeshire. These early Trusts tended to focus on purchasing land to establish nature reserves in the geographical areas they served.
Statutes
This is a list of relevant statutes. Laws which have been fully repealed are not listed here.
The Pests Act prohibits most kinds of spring traps. It also puts almost the whole of England and Wales (except the City of London, the Isles of Scilly and Skokholm Island) under a "rabbit clearance order" which puts a duty on land occupiers to take reasonable measures to kill wild rabbits on their land.
This Act is mostly unrelated to wildlife, but contains a helpful paragraph: "Wild creatures, tamed or untamed, shall be regarded as property, but a person cannot steal a wild creature unless... it has been reduced into possession by or on behalf of another person".[16]
Defines a wild mammal as one which is neither domestic nor captive. Makes it an offence to mutilate, kick, beat, nail or otherwise impale, stab, burn, stone, crush, drown, drag or asphyxiate any wild mammal with intent to inflict unnecessary suffering.[19]
The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is a charitable organisation registered in England and Wales and in Scotland. It was founded in 1889. It works to promote conservation and protection of birds and the wider environment through public awareness campaigns, petitions and through the operation of nature reserves throughout the United Kingdom.
This page gives an overview of the complex structure of environmental and cultural conservation in the United Kingdom.
NatureScot is the operating name for the body formally called Scottish Natural Heritage. It is an executive non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government responsible for the country's natural heritage, especially its natural, genetic and scenic diversity. It advises the Scottish Government on nature conservation, and acts as a government agent in the delivery of conservation designations, i.e. national nature reserves, local nature reserves, national parks, Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs), Special Areas of Conservation, Special Protection Areas and the national scenic areas. It receives annual funding from the Government in the form of Grant in Aid to deliver Government priorities for the natural heritage.
The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom implemented to comply with European Council Directive 79/409/EEC on the conservation of wild birds. In short, the act gives protection to native species, controls the release of non-native species, enhances the protection of Sites of Special Scientific Interest and builds upon the rights of way rules in the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949. The Act is split into 4 parts covering 74 sections; it also includes 17 schedules.
Ouse Washes is a linear 2,513.6-hectare (6,211-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest stretching from near St Ives in Cambridgeshire to Downham Market in Norfolk. It is also a Ramsar internationally important wetland site, a Special Protection Area for birds, a Special Area of Conservation and a Nature Conservation Review site, Grade I. An area of 186 hectares between March and Ely is managed by the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire and another area near Chatteris is managed by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. The Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust manages another area near Welney.
Mink are dark-colored, semiaquatic, carnivorous mammals of the genera Neogale and Mustela and part of the family Mustelidae, which also includes weasels, otters, and ferrets. There are two extant species referred to as "mink": the American mink and the European mink. The extinct sea mink was related to the American mink but was much larger.
Game or quarry is any wild animal hunted for animal products, for recreation ("sporting"), or for trophies. The species of animals hunted as game varies in different parts of the world and by different local jurisdictions, though most are terrestrial mammals and birds. Fish caught non-commercially are also referred to as game fish.
The Hunting Act 2004 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which bans the hunting of most wild mammals with dogs in England and Wales, subject to some strictly limited exemptions; the Act does not cover the use of dogs in the process of flushing out an unidentified wild mammal, nor does it affect drag hunting, where hounds are trained to follow an artificial scent.
Richard Sidney Richmond Fitter was a British naturalist and author. He was an expert on wildflowers and authored several guides for amateur naturalists.
Wildlife management is the management process influencing interactions among and between wildlife, its habitats and people to achieve predefined impacts. It attempts to balance the needs of wildlife with the needs of people using the best available science. Wildlife management can include wildlife conservation, gamekeeping and pest control. Wildlife management draws on disciplines such as mathematics, chemistry, biology, ecology, climatology and geography to gain the best results.
Wicken Fen is a 254.5-hectare (629-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest west of Wicken in Cambridgeshire. It is also a National Nature Reserve, and a Nature Conservation Review site. It is protected by international designations as a Ramsar wetland site of international importance, and part of the Fenland Special Area of Conservation under the Habitats Directive.
Game laws are statutes which regulate the right to pursue and hunt certain kinds of wild animals and fish. The scope of game laws can include the following:
The Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 is an Act of the Parliament of India enacted for protection of plants and animal species. Before 1972, India had only five designated national parks. Among other reforms, the Act established scheduled protected plant and hunting certain animal species or harvesting these species was largely outlawed. The Act provides for the protection of wild animals, birds and plants; and for matters connected therewith or ancillary or incidental thereto. It extends to the whole of India.
A hunting license or hunting permit is a regulatory or legal mechanism to control hunting, both commercial and recreational. A license specifically made for recreational hunting is sometimes called a game license.
Campbell Douglas Deane O.B.E., M.Sc., F.L.S. was an Irish ornithologist. His father Arthur Deane M.R.I A., F.R.S.E, a botanist, was curator of the then Belfast Museum and Art Gallery from 1905-1942. C.D. Deane, known as Jimmy, was educated at Methodist College Belfast. He joined the museum in 1932, was promoted to Keeper of Natural History in 1950 and was from 1957 Deputy Director and the Keeper of Natural Science in the, by then, Ulster Museum. He served in the Royal Air Force in Peterborough and in the Royal Flying Corps Canada during the Second World War.
A wildlife inspector is a person empowered by law to protect wildlife.
Wildlife and Countryside Link (Link) is the largest environment and wildlife coalition in England, bringing together voluntary organisations in the UK to protect wildlife, restore landscapes and the marine environment and improve access to nature.
Woodwalton Fen is a 209-hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in the parish of Woodwalton, west of Ramsey in Huntingdonshire, Cambridgeshire, England. It is a Ramsar wetland site of international importance, a National Nature Reserve, a Special Area of Conservation and a Nature Conservation Review site, Grade I. The site is managed by Natural England and owned by the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire.
Dingle Marshes is a 93-hectare (230-acre) wildlife reserve on the North Sea coast of the English county of Suffolk. The reserve is located between Dunwich and Walberswick, approximately 4 miles (6.4 km) south-west of Southwold. The marshes make up part of the Suffolk Coast National Nature Reserve along with reserves at Walberswick and Hen Reedbeds. They are owned jointly by the RSPB and Suffolk Wildlife Trust and are managed by these two organisations and Natural England. The site is in the Dunwich Heaths and Marshes Nature Conservation Review site, Grade I, the Minsmere-Walberswick Ramsar internationally important wetland site, the Minsmere to Walberswick Heaths and Marshes Special Area of Conservation, and the Minsmere-Walberswick Special Protection Area under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds.
Meathop Moss is a raised bog located north of Meathop in Cumbria, England. Protected as a nature reserve by the Cumbria Wildlife Trust, Meathop Moss is notable for its insect life. In 1965 it was designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest under the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949. Along with two other raised bogs near the Kent estuary, it was included in the Witherslack Mosses Special Area of Conservation which was designated in 2005.
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