A copy of my email today : Dear Mrs Woolven Thank you for the email you recently sent to Natural England about our General and Class Licence Consultation. The issue of robins, pied wagtails and starlings was included in Question 2 of the consultation. There is also some further information about the issue on our website here: naturalengland.org.uk/ourwork/regulation/wildlife/mythbusting.aspx. All wild birds are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (as amended) and cannot be killed or taken, and neither can their nests and eggs be taken, damaged or destroyed. The Act does allow for nests and eggs to be taken, damaged or destroyed under licence where required to preserve public health or safety. Pied wagtails, robins and starlings sometimes choose nesting locations, such as the inside of food preparation facilities, hospital ventilation shafts and railway signalling equipment, which present a potential hazard to human health and safety, as a result of risk of infection or serious accident. The consultation sought views on whether the removal of pied wagtail, robin and starling nests where the location of those nests represents a potential health and safety hazard ONLY should be included in the General Licence. If the licence was changed, this would allow essential action to be taken more quickly, as it would no longer require application for an individual licence before nest removal. There is no proposal to change the existing law protecting birds’ nests and eggs and any destruction of a nest outside the circumstances outlined would remain illegal under the Wildlife and Countryside Act. There is no process for issuing licences to take or remove eggs, nests and birds for development purposes, such as house building, under the Wildlife and Countryside Act and there are no proposals in the consultation to give wider permission to developers, or anyone else, to disturb nests and eggs than already exists. For further information regarding the consultation, the full document can be found here: naturalengland.org.uk/ourwork/regulation/wildlife/licences/wildlifelicensingconsultation.aspx Annmarie Williams Adviser - EPS Support Group Sustainable Development Natural England Hornbeam House, Electra Way Crewe Business Park Crewe, Cheshire CW1 6GJ Tel. 0300 060 2754 Fax. 01270 754141 mailto: [email protected] naturalengland.org.uk We are here to secure a healthy natural environment for people to enjoy, where wildlife is protected and Englands traditional landscapes are safeguarded for future generations. In an effort to reduce Natural Englands carbon footprint, I will, wherever possible, avoid travelling to meetings and attend via audio, video or web conferencing.
Posted on: Tue, 03 Jun 2014 12:42:13 +0000
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