Licensing

Licensing

It is possible to apply for licences to undertake activities that would otherwise be outlawed by Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and Wildlife (Northern Ireland) Order 1985, but these are only issued for certain purposes.

Licences are issued by CCW (Countryside Council for Wales), EHS (Environment and Heritage Service Northern Ireland), NE (Natural England) and SNH (Scottish Natural Heritage) for the following purposes:
• scientific
• educational
• photography
• conserving wild animals or wild plants or introducing them to particular areas
• protecting any zoological or botanical collection.

Licences are available for England from Defra (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs), in Northern Ireland from EHS (Environment and Heritage Service), in Wales from the Welsh Assembly and in Scotland from SEERAD (Scottish Executive Environment and Rural Affairs Department) for:
• preventing the spread of disease
• preserving public health or public or air safety
• preventing serious damage to livestock, foodstuffs for livestock, crops, vegetables, fruit, growing timber, pasture or any other form of property, or to fisheries.

Trade is licensed separately (see Trade in protected species).

Table 1A. Invertebrate Species Protected Under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (Species Listed on Schedule 5)

Table 1B. Invertebrate Species Protected Under the Wildlife (Northern Ireland) Order 1985 (Species Listed on Schedules 5 And 7)