Wildlife and the Law : Wildlife Trust for Lancashire, Manchester and North Merseyside

Greater Manchester Police
To combat wildlife crime, Greater Manchester Police has a team of dedicated officers who, as part of their normal policing duties specialise in investigating wildlife-related crime. The Force Wildlife Crime Officer supports Divisional Wildlife Officers by providing assistance and specialist advice and works in partnership with other organisations and agencies, both governmental and non-governmental.

Lancashire Constabulary
The Force Wildlife Officer is PC Duncan Thomas; e-mail: duncan.thomas@lancashire.pnn.police.uk; tel: 01772-413 667 (direct)

Merseyside Police
The Police Wildlife Officer is PC Andy McWilliam; tel: 0151-709 6010 (switchboard)

The law on wildlife and wild places is very complex and operates at international, European Union and national levels.

For a quick summary of day-to-day issues we recommend that you look at the 'Wildlife Crimes' section of the Greater Manchester Police website.

If your interest is more academic, a broad summary is provided below - with the caveat that this is a guide only and incomplete at that! You should seek qualified legal advice if you are seeking to avoid prosecution or intending to bring a prosecution.

This legislation enables Lancashire County Council, city, district and borough councils and parish and town councils to declare areas of land on which they have legal tenure as Local Nature Reserves.

This legislation enabled the former Nature Conservancy Council (NCC) to publicly identify Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Great Britain and to enter into negotiation with landowners and managers of these sites if the latter wished to undertake any management that might damage or destroy the 'interest' for which the site had been identified. Within England, English Nature now has the old NCC's role. It will, in turn, become the role of a new agency, Natural England, in October 2006 as a result of the enactment of the Natural Environment & Rural Communities Act 2006 (see below).

Certain species of plant and animal identified in schedules to the 1981 Act are offered special protection, making it an offence to pick, disturb, capture, injure or kill them or to damage, destroy or obstruct access to the their breeding place or place of shelter. Those most likely to be found on land or freshwater in our area are Adder, all species of bat, Great Crested Newt, Otter, Red Squirrel, Water Vole.

Marine species protected include all species of cetacean (whale, dolphin and porpoise) and all species of marine turtle. The Harbour Porpoise is the cetacean species most likely to be encountered off our shores and leatherback turtles visit the Irish Sea in small numbers every summer.

All species of bird, their nests and eggs are afforded similar protection, though some (e.g. Hen Harrier) are afforded especially strict protection.

The Joint Nature Conservation Committee was also created. It coordinates nature conservation matters at Great Britain, UK and international levels and also has overall responsibility for the UK's dependent territories.

These regulations require owners and managers of rural hedgerows to notify their local planning authority (city, borough or district council) if they intend to remove a hedgerow. If the hedgerow supports a diverse range of shrubs or rare or specially protected plants or animals then the council may refuse permission for removal or place conditions on the process.

This animal welfare legislation makes it an offence to capture, injure or kill a wild badger; be in possession of a live or dead badger; or damage, destroy or obstruct access to an active badger sett.

These regulations translate the EU Habitats & Species Directive into the detail of English law. Guidance has been produced by English Nature that addresses various aspects of the Conservation Regulations, including:

The protection of SSSIs, already established in the Wildlife and Countryside Act, is strengthened in this legislation. It gave greater power to English Nature to enter into management agreements, to refuse consent for damaging operations, and to take action where damage is being caused through neglect or inappropriate management. It also allowed for prosecution of third parties that damage or destroy a SSSI.

The Act of 2000 also improved the protection offered to native species listed in Annex II of the EU Habitats & Species Directive. Those most likely to be found in our area are bats, great crested newts and otters. It also provided for greater penalties for offenders.

The importance of biodiversity conservation was given a legal basis, requiring government departments to have regard for biodiversity in carrying out their functions, and to take positive steps to further the conservation of listed species and habitats.

Local government was given a statutory duty to further the conservation and enhancement of SSSIs, both in carrying out operations, and in exercising decision-making functions.

This legislation offers a degree of protection to individuals of all wild species of mammal. In essence it's an animal welfare law rather than one that deals specifically with nature conservation.

All mammals are protected from deliberate acts of cruelty by this act. So if, for example, someone kicks a hedgehog they commit an offence under this legislation, the penalty of which can be up to £5,000 fine.

Obviously there are some exceptions, such as mercy killing, any lawful hunting, shooting or coursing or any lawful pest control.

Some mammals such as badgers, grey seals and wild deer have their own legislation.

This legislation enables the amalgamation of English Nature with the Countryside Agency and the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs' Rural Development Service to form a new agency to be called 'Natural England'. This comes into existence in October 2006.

In 1979, the European Community adopted Council Directive 79/409/EEC on the conservation of wild birds (PDF 209KB) (the 'Birds Directive'), in response to the 1979 Bern Convention on the conservation of European habitats and species (the 'Bern Convention'). The annexes were amended by the Environment Chapter of the Treaty of Accession 2003. The Directive provides a framework for the conservation and management of, and human interactions with, wild birds in Europe.

Amongst its provisions are requirements for the identification and protection of Special Protection Areas (SPA) for internationally important populations of wild birds.

SPA in our area are: Leighton Moss, Martin Mere, Mersey Estuary, Mersey Narrows and North Wirral Foreshore, Morecambe Bay, South Pennines, Ribble & Alt Estuaries, and South Pennine Moors.

Article 3 of the Directive requires the establishment of a European network of important high-quality conservation sites that will make a significant contribution to conserving the 189 habitat types and 788 species identified in Annexes I and II of the Directive (as amended). The listed habitat types and species are those considered to be most in need of conservation at a European level (excluding birds). Of the Annex I habitat types, 78 are believed to occur in the UK. Of the Annex II species, 43 are native to, and normally resident in, the UK

Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) are strictly protected sites designated under the EC Habitats & Species Directive.

Special Areas of Conservation in our area are Calf Hill & Cragg Woods, Manchester Mosses, Morecambe Bay, Morecambe Bay (Limestone) Pavements, North Pennine Dales Meadows, Rochdale Canal, Sefton Coast, and South Pennine Moors.

Annex II species listed in the Directive are afforded special protection in England under the terms of the Countryside & Rights of Way Act 2000 and the Habitats & Species Regulations 1994.

The Ramsar Convention

'Ramsar sites' are wetlands of international importance designated under the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, to which the UK Government is a signatory. The Convention was established in Ramsar, Iran in 1971.

Ramsar sites in our area are: Leighton Moss, Martin Mere, Mersey Estuary, Mersey Narrows & North Wirral Foreshore, Morecambe Bay, and Ribble & Alt Estuaries.

The Bern Convention

The Bern Convention is a binding international legal instrument in the field of nature conservation, which covers the whole of the natural heritage of the European continent and extends to some States of Africa. Its aims are to conserve wild flora and fauna and their natural habitats and to promote European co-operation in that field. The UK is a signatory to the Convention. It was established at Bern, Switzerland in 1979.

The OSPAR Convention

The Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic (OSPAR) was adopted in Paris in September 1992 and entered into force in March 1998. The UK Government is a signatory and is required to develop lists of species and habitats in need of protection, identify and select marine protected areas, and prevent and control adverse impacts on the marine environment from human activities.

The Irish Sea is covered by this convention.

The Biodiversity Convention

The UK Biodiversity Action Plan (UKBAP) was published in January 1994 in response to Article 6 of the Biodiversity Convention, to which the UK became a signatory in 1992. The Convention was established in Rio de Janeiro in that year. The Biodiversity Convention requires national governments to develop national strategies for the conservation of biological diversity and the sustainable use of biological resources

In the United Kingdom, local partnerships have also produced local biodiversity action plans (LBAP). The plans at county level in our area are:

	Lancashire Biodiversity Action Plan
	Greater Manchester Biodiversity Action Plan
	North Merseyside Biodiversity Action Plan

A North West England Biodiversity Action Plan (Maritime) is also in preparation.