Protected Species Legislation
Further information on the legislation that covers protected species in the UK, how this protection is dealt with through the planning process and what effect this will have on your project.
Bat
All species of British bats are protected under UK and EU legislation. If you intentionally or recklessly kill or injure a bat or damage, destroy or obstruct a bat roost you are breaking the law, resulting in prosecution and fines of up to £5,000 per bat. You should be aware that a bat roost is an area where bats may breed or rest it is therefore a place where bats seek protection or shelter. As bats tend to use the same roosts each year the roost is also protected whether there are bats present or not.
This makes it an offence to:
- Deliberately or recklessly capture or kill bats
- Deliberately or recklessly disturb bats
- Damage or destroy a bat breeding site or resting place
- Keep, transport, sell or exchange, or offer for sale or exchange, any live or dead bat, or any part of, or anything derived from a bat
Badger
The 1992 Act repeals previous Badgers Acts of 1973 and 1991, and certain sections of other relevant acts such as The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, The Environmental Protection Act 1990, The Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986, The Natural Heritage (Scotland) Act 1991, and The Criminal Justice Act 1991.
This makes it an offence to:
- Willfully killing, injures or takes, or attempts to kill, injure or take, a badger.
- Cruelly ill-treating a badger, digging for badgers, using badger tongs, using a firearm other than the type specified under the exceptions within the Act.
- Interfering with a badger sett by damaging, destroying, obstructing, causing dog a dog to enter a sett, disturbing an occupied sett - either by intent or by negligence.
- Selling or offering for sale a live badger, having possession or control of a live badger.
- Marking a badger or attaching any ring, tag, or other marking device to a badger.
Great Crested Newt
The great crested newt (GCN) is protected in the UK under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (as amended). Great crested newts is also protected in Europe under Annex 2 and 4 of the EU Habitats and Species Directive, the Bern Convention and the Conservation Regulations 1994 Natural. It is illegal to intentionally kill, injure or capture GCN, their young or their eggs or to intentionally or recklessly damage, destroy or obstruct access to areas GCN use for shelter or protection (including water bodies used by great crested newts).
Otter
Otters and their holts are protected under Schedule 5 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (as amended) and Schedule 2 of the Conservation (Natural Habitats &c.) Regulations 1994 (as amended). EC Habitat Directive. It is an offence to deliberately kill, injure, capture or disturb otters as well as obstructing or damaging their place of refuge and breeding sites or to destroy or damage anything that conceals or protects their place of refuge.
Reptile
All native reptiles are protected by law. The smooth snake and sand lizard are the two rarest species and have the greatest protection.
The common lizard, slow worm, adder and grass snake are protected under Schedule 9 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (as amended) making it illegal to kill or injure these animals.
The sand lizard and smooth snake are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (as amended) and the Natural Habitats Regulations 1994, making it illegal to kill, injure, capture, disturb or handle these animals. Areas they use for shelter, resting, breeding and protection are also protected from being damaged or destroyed and it is also illegal to obstruct these animals from using these areas.
If an area that has been cleared for site work which predictably may contain reptiles and these reptiles are likely to be killed or injured from the site work, the work can still legally constitute as intentional killing or injuring.
Water Vole
The water vole is protected under Schedule 5 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (as amended). It is an offence to intentionally damage, destroy or obstruct access to any structure or place which water voles use for shelter or protection; it is also an offence to intentionally disturb water voles while they are using these places.