Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981Branta canadensisCorvus coroneStreptopelia decaoctoLarus marinusLarus fuscusLarus argentatusCorvus monedulaGarrulus glandariusPica picaColumba liviaCorvus frugilegusColumba palumbusCorvus coroneCorvus monedulaGarrulus glandariusPica picaCorvus frugilegus1 January 2007 to.Department for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsBranta canadensis).Larus argentatus) and the YellowleggedLarus michahellis) are best treated as

Licence to kill or take certain birds

to prevent serious damage or disease

The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, in exercise of the powers conferred on him by

sections 16(1)(j) and (k) and section 16(5) of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, as amended (“the 1981 Act”)

after consultation with Natural England, and being satisfied that as regards the purposes set out in paragraph (1)

that there is no other satisfactory solution, hereby grants the following licence:

Licence

1. The purposes for which this licence is granted are preventing the spread of disease and for preventing serious

damage to livestock, foodstuffs for livestock, crops, vegetables, fruit, growing timber, fisheries or inland

waters.

2. Subject to the terms and conditions below, and for the purposes set out in paragraph (1) above, this licence

permits:

(i) any authorised person to kill or take any of the wild birds listed in this subparagraph, to take, damage or

destroy their nests or to take or destroy their eggs. The wild birds are:

Greater Canada Goose

Crow

Dove, Collared

Gull, Great Black-backed

Gull, Lesser Black-backed

Gull, Herring

Jackdaw

Jay

Magpie

Pigeon, Feral

Rook

Woodpigeon

(ii) the use of a semi-automatic weapon by authorised persons acting under subparagraph (2)(i) above;

(iii) the use of a cage trap, the dimensions of which do not satisfy the requirements of section 8(1) of the

1981 Act, by authorised persons acting under subparagraph (2)(i) above;

(iv) in relation to the killing or taking of Feral Pigeon (Columba livia) only:

(a) the use of any device for illuminating a target or any sighting device for night shooting, by authorised

persons acting under subparagraph (2)(i) above;

(b) the use of any form of artificial lighting or any mirror or other dazzling device, by authorised persons

acting under subparagraph (2)(i) above;

(v) the use, by authorised persons acting under subparagraph (2)(i) above, of any net, except the use of any

net for taking birds in flight or the use for taking birds on the ground of any net which is projected or

propelled otherwise than by hand.

Terms and conditions

3. Except as specifically permitted under paragraph (2) above, this licence does not authorise the use of any

method of killing or taking which is prohibited by section 5 or section 8 of the 1981 Act.

4. This licence can only be relied on in circumstances where the authorised person is satisfied that appropriate

non-lethal methods of control such as scaring are either ineffective or impracticable.

WLF18 (Rev. 12/06)

5. Where any cage trap, including a trap authorised under subparagraph (2)(iii) above is used, then only the bird

species listed in this paragraph may be used as decoys. Each decoy bird must be provided with adequate food,

water, appropriate shelter and a perch for the entire period during which it is used:

Crow

Jackdaw

Jay

Magpie

Rook

6. Any birds killed in accordance with this licence must be killed in a quick and humane manner. Greater Canada

Geese held captive prior to being killed must be killed out of sight of other captive birds of the same species.

(see note 8)

7. Where any live animal, other than a bird included in the list at subparagraph (2)(i) above, has become confined

in the cage trap it must be released immediately upon discovery. Birds included in the list at subparagraph 2(i)

which have become confined in the cage trap and which are to be killed under this licence, must be killed in a

quick and humane manner as soon as reasonably practicable after discovery.

8. When in use, every cage trap used pursuant to this licence must be physically inspected at least once every day

at intervals of no more than 24 hours except where this is not possible because of severe weather conditions.

In such cases, every effort must be made to inspect the cage trap as soon as possible. (see note 9)

9. At each inspection any dead animal, including any dead bird, caught in the trap should be removed from it.

(see note 8)

10. Where a cage trap is not in use, it must be rendered incapable of holding or catching birds or other animals.

Any bait, food, water or decoy birds must also be removed. (see note 10)

This licence is valid in England, unless previously revoked, for the period from

31 December 2007

Definitions

11. In this licence-

(i) “authorised person” has the same meaning as in section 27 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981;

(see note 11)

(ii) “to kill” includes accidentally to wound whilst attempting to kill in accordance with this licence;

(iii) “semi-automatic weapon” means any weapon which is not prohibited by section 5 of the Firearms Act

1968 as amended and which has a magazine capable of holding more than two rounds of ammunition,

where the depression of the trigger ejects a single shot, each subsequent shot requiring a further

depression of the trigger;

(iv) “wild bird” has the same meaning as in section 27 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. (see note 12)

Simon R Harding

Authorised by the Secretary of State Wildlife Species Conservation Division

for the Environment to sign Room 1/09a

in that behalf Temple Quay House

1 January 2007 2 The Square

Temple Way

Bristol BS1 6EB

Tel: 0117 372 8746

WLF18 (Rev. 12/06)

Notes

1. Under section 1 of the 1981 Act it is an offence for

any person to kill, injure or take any wild bird; to take,

damage or destroy the nest of any wild bird while

the nest is in use or being built; or to take or destroy

an egg of any wild bird.

2. Section 5 of the 1981 Act prohibits the use of certain

methods of killing and taking wild birds including, but

not exclusively, the use of any poisonous, poisoned

or stupefying substance, any bow or crossbow, any

explosive other than ammunition for a firearm, or

any chemical wetting agent.

3. Under section 8 of the 1981 Act, it is an offence for

any person to keep or confine any bird whatever in

any cage or other receptacle which is not sufficient

in height, length or breadth to permit the bird to

stretch its wings freely.

4. Section 16(1) of the 1981 Act provides that sections

1, 5 and 8 shall not apply to anything done under

and in accordance with the terms of a licence granted

by the appropriate authority, which is the Secretary

of State (after consultation with Natural England).

5. This licence authorises acts which would otherwise

be an offence under the Wildlife and Countryside

Act 1981. Failure to act within the purposes of this

licence as set out in paragraph 1 or failure to comply

with the terms and conditions set out in paragraphs

3 to 10 may lead to an offence against that Act. The

maximum penalty available for an offence under Part

I of the Act is a fine of £5000 and/or a six month

custodial sentence.

6. Please note that except as provided under section

16(7) of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, this

licence does not permit actions prohibited under

any other legislation. For example, where the action

involves the use of firearms, it is the authorised

person’s responsibility to ensure that he complies

with all relevant legislation. Similarly, anyone acting

under this licence is not exempt from the provisions

of section 28E of the Wildlife and Countryside Act,

as amended.

7. Where cage traps used under the terms of this licence

consistently capture birds not included in the list at

subparagraph (2)(i), the trap should be moved, as a

matter of good practice, to a different location in order

to minimise the risk of such birds being caught again.

8. Authorised persons should have regard to good

practice and any legislation affecting the disposal of

the carcase(s) of any bird killed in accordance with this

licence.

9. The authorised person should have regard to the

inspection requirements contained in paragraph (8)

when considering the use of a cage trap under this

licence. As a matter of good practice, cage traps

should not be used during severe weather conditions,

or when such conditions are reasonably anticipated.

10. In order to render any cage trap incapable of holding

or catching birds or other animals, it is necessary to

either secure the door in a fully open or closed position

or to remove the door completely. The exact method

used will depend on the type of cage trap, but where

the door is not fully removed, it must be secured by

such means as to prevent accidental operation or

unauthorised use.

11. At the time of issue of this licence, “authorised

person” is defined in section 27(1) of the Wildlife

and Countryside Act 1981 as:

• the owner or occupier, or any person authorised

by the owner or occupier, of the land on which

the action authorised is taken;

• any person authorised in writing by the local

authority for the area within which the action

authorised is taken; and

• any person authorised in writing by: Natural

England, a water authority or any other statutory

water undertakers, or a local fisheries committee

constituted under the Sea Fisheries Regulation

Act 1966.

The authorisation of any person for the purposes of

this definition shall not confer any right of entry upon

land. It should be noted that this definition may be

subject to legislative amendment.

12. At the time of issue of this licence, “wild bird” is

defined in section 27(1) of the Wildlife and Countryside

Act 1981 as “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”. It should be noted that this definition may be

subject to legislative amendment.

13. Under section 14 of the 1981 Act it is an offence to

release into the wild any animal included in Part 1

of Schedule 9 to the Act. This includes the Greater

Canada Goose (

14. The authorised person should have regard to the

Environmental Protection (Restriction on Use of Lead

Shot) (England) Regulations 1999 (SI 1999/2170).

Regulation 3 prohibits the use of lead shot for the

purpose of shooting geese with a shot gun.

15. The British Ornithologists’ Union advises that the

Herring Gull (

Gull (

seperate species. This licence does not authorise

the killing or taking of Yellow-legged Gulls. Yellowlegged

Gulls are sometimes confused with Herring

Gulls, but are distinct: adult Yellow-legged gulls have

yellow rather than pink legs, a slightly darker grey

back than the Herring gull and a red, rather than

yellow, ring around the eye.

16. This licence may be modified or revoked at any time