Wildlife law in England and Wales facts for kids

Wildlife law in England and Wales is all about protecting wild animals and plants. These laws help make sure that our amazing wildlife can live safely and thrive. Many of these rules have been around for a long time, even before Queen Victoria! In the past, people often saw wild animals as something to hunt or use. But now, most people want to protect birds and mammals, not just landowners' interests.

What Animals Do These Laws Protect?

The law talks about different kinds of animals:

Wild Birds

A "wild bird" is any bird that usually lives in or visits countries in Europe in the wild. This does not include farm birds like chickens. It is against the law to:

• Kill, hurt, or catch any wild bird.
• Own a wild bird (alive or dead) or any part of it.
• Stop a wild bird from using its nest.
• Take or destroy a wild bird's egg.
• Own a wild bird's egg or any part of an egg.
• Keep a wild bird in a cage where it cannot stretch its wings freely.

Game Birds

"Game birds" are birds that people used to hunt for sport or food. These include pheasants, ptarmigans, partridges, and grouse. The bustard used to be a game bird in the UK, but sadly, it was hunted until it disappeared from the country.

Specially Protected Wild Animals

Some wild animals are given extra protection because they are rare or important. These include:

• Badgers
• Bats
• Wild cats
• Dolphins
• Dormice
• Hedgehogs
• Pine martens
• Otters
• Polecats
• Shrews
• Red squirrels

The law also lists some animals as "vermin." Landowners are allowed to control these animals. For wild rabbits, landowners are even required to control them.

How Are Wildlife Laws Enforced?

The police play a big part in making sure wildlife laws are followed. If a police officer thinks someone has broken a wildlife law, they can:

• Stop and search that person.
• Take away any evidence.
• Arrest the person.

Most wildlife crimes are "strict liability" crimes. This means that if you do something that is against the law, you can be found guilty even if you didn't mean to break the law.

There are some exceptions. For example, if you are trying to help an injured animal, like taking it to a vet, you usually won't be breaking the law. Also, if an animal is so badly hurt that it cannot recover, it's okay to humanely put it out of its misery.

If someone breaks a wildlife law, legal action usually needs to start within six months of the police finding evidence. However, it cannot start more than two years after the crime happened. The biggest penalty for most wildlife crimes is up to six months in prison and a fine of up to £5,000. The court can also make the person pay for the costs of the legal case.

History of Wildlife Protection

Game Laws: Early Rules for Hunting

The story of wildlife protection started with "Game laws." These were rules about who could hunt certain kinds of fish and wild animals. In Britain, these laws grew out of older "forest laws" from the time of the Norman kings. These old laws were very strict. For example, under William the Conqueror, killing one of the king's deer was as serious as killing a person! For a long time, only people with a certain social status or a lot of property were allowed to hunt.

The Game Act 1831 helped protect game birds in England and Wales by setting hunting seasons.

The Game Act 1831 was an important step. It protected game birds by setting "close seasons." This meant there were times of the year when these birds could not be hunted legally. The Act also said that people needed a special license to hunt game and allowed for "gamekeepers" to look after hunting areas. The goal was to find a balance between hunting animals and making sure there were enough of them left for the future.

How Wildlife Conservation Began

In the late 1800s, people started to care more about protecting wildlife. This led to the first laws and groups focused on nature conservation. The Sea Birds Preservation Act 1869 was passed in Britain. It was one of the first nature protection laws in the world! It happened after a group called the Association for the Protection of Seabirds worked hard to make it happen.

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) was started in 1889 by Emily Williamson. It began as a protest group against using feathers and skins from birds like the Great Crested Grebe and kittiwake in clothing. The group became very popular and joined with another group to form the RSPB we know today. Many people, including famous bird experts, supported them.

The National Trust was formed in 1895. Its main goal was to protect beautiful lands for everyone to enjoy. In 1899, the Trust bought two acres of Wicken Fen. This became the first nature reserve in Britain! A naturalist named Charles Rothschild helped make this happen. He was a pioneer in wildlife conservation and set up many other nature reserves. He also created the Society for the Promotion of Nature Reserves in 1912, which later became The Wildlife Trusts partnership.

In the early days, these groups mostly had expert naturalists as members. The first independent "Wildlife Trust" was formed in Norfolk in 1926. More trusts were created in the 1940s and 1950s. These early trusts often focused on buying land to create nature reserves in their local areas.

Important Wildlife Laws (Statutes)

Here are some of the main laws that help protect wildlife in England and Wales today:

• Game Act 1831: This law set up rules for hunting game birds, including "close seasons" when they couldn't be hunted.
• Ground Game Act 1880: This law specifically covers rabbits and hares.
• Pests Act 1954: This law made most types of spring traps illegal. It also requires landowners in most of England and Wales to control wild rabbits on their land.
• Theft Act 1968: This law generally deals with stealing. It says that wild animals are considered property if someone has caught them or owns them.
• Conservation of Seals Act 1970: This law protects seals.
• Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries Act 1975: This law helps manage and protect fish in rivers and freshwaters.
• Animal Health Act 1981: This law gives government ministers strong powers to deal with threats to farm animals, but it has special rules for badgers and other protected species.
• Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981: This is a very important law. It stops people from catching or killing wildlife using things like self-locking snares, bows, crossbows, and explosives (unless they are proper firearm ammunition).
• Deer Act 1991: This law brings together older laws about deer.
• Protection of Badgers Act 1992: This law makes it illegal to use badger tongs, dig for badgers, disturb them in their homes (setts), or let dogs into a sett.
• Wild Mammals (Protection) Act 1996: This law protects wild mammals that are not pets or farm animals.
• Hunting Act 2004: This law made fox hunting with dogs illegal.
• Animal Welfare Act 2006: This law makes sure that people who own or care for animals look after them properly and meet their welfare needs.
• Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006: This law makes public organizations think about biodiversity (the variety of life) when they do their work.
• Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2010: These rules help protect important natural habitats and the species that live in them.