The most important law regarding conservation in England and Wales is the Wildlife and Countryside Act (WCA) 1981, which includes protection of birds, other animals and plants, as well as other legislation regarding the countryside. Some of the WCA legislation and other laws which affect woodland plants and animals are outlined below.
Plants
General protection
Under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, it is an offence for any person to uproot any wild plant without permission from the landowner or occupier. Uproot is defined as to ‘dig up or otherwise remove the plant from the land on which it is growing’, and includes plants without roots. Lichens, fungi, mosses, liverworts and vascular plants are thus covered under the Act. Similar protection is given in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Under the Theft Act 1968, it is an offence to dig up and take for commercial purposes any plant, tree, shrub, soil, peat, gravel etc without permission from the landowner or occupier.
Under common law it is not normally an offence to pick fruit, foliage, fungi or flowers, which are growing wild, if they are for personal use and not for resale, and providing that none are specifically protected. Thus seasonal gathering of blackberries, mushrooms or holly is normally permissible, provided this is from a right of way or other public place, and that there are no bylaws prohibiting it.
Endangered plants
The Wildlife and Countryside Act contains a list of endangered plants (Schedule 8), which are protected against intentional picking, uprooting, destruction and sale. Schedule 8 is revised every five years. In addition, bluebells (Britain) and primroses (Northern Ireland) are listed for protection only against sale.
There are exceptions to the General and Schedule 8 protection if the person has a specific or general licence issued by a relevant authority, or if it can be shown that the action was an incidental result of a lawful activity and could not reasonably be avoided.
Protected areas
In SSSIs or ASSIs (Northern Ireland), owners and occupiers may be prosecuted if they destroy plants growing in these sites or remove plant material, unless they have first consulted the statutory nature conservation agency. In other areas bylaws may forbid the picking, uprooting or removal of plants.
Mosses
As noted above, it is illegal to gather moss without the landowner’s permission. There are 28 moss species listed under Schedule 8 for which collection is illegal, whether or not the landowner’s permission has been obtained. In some areas Forest Enterprise issues licences for the collection of moss from forestry plantations, from where collection is not damaging, for use in floristry.
International protection
Under the Conservation (Natural Habitats) Regulation 1994, updated by The Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2010, certain internationally rare plants are listed as European Protected Species. This makes it an offence to deliberately pick, collect, uproot or destroy one of these plants, and includes similar protection for their seeds and spores.
For further details see the Code of Conduct for the conservation and enjoyment of wild plants (BSBI and JNCC, 1999).
Animals
The Wildlife and Countryside Act applies to wild animals, which are defined as those that are living wild or were living wild before being captured or killed. All wild birds, excluding game birds, are protected, and those animals listed under Schedule 5. This includes bats, many reptiles and amphibians, wild cat, pine marten, dormouse, some moths, butterflies and other invertebrates.
Badgers
Badgers are protected under the Protection of Badgers Act 1992. Under the Act, it is an offence to wilfully kill, injure or take a badger; to interfere with a sett by damaging or obstructing it or by disturbing a badger when it is occupying a badger sett, with intent or recklessly. The Act also contains provisions to permit, under licence, certain activities which would otherwise be prohibited by the Act. These activities may include construction of forest roads, quarrying, protection works for ancient monuments near badger setts and some types of recreational activities. The licensing authorities are the agriculture departments or nature conservation agencies, depending on the type of activity.
The law protects all setts which show signs of current use, including seasonal or occasional use. Badgers live in groups of about 5-12 animals, and usually have more than one sett in their territory. The main breeding sett is normally used continuously, and signs of use are fairly easy to find. Outlying setts up to 150m away from the main sett may only be used occasionally. Tunnels are often only 600mm (2’) or so below the surface, and can be disturbed by heavy machinery. Where management work is taking place, a protection zone should be established so that no work takes place within 20m of any entrance to a sett believed to be in current use.
The nature conservation agencies (EN, SNH, CCW) or agriculture departments should be consulted for further advice on woodland management work near badger setts. For further details see Forest Operations and Badger Setts (Forestry Commission, 1995).
Bats
All bats are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act (Schedule 5). They are also included in Schedule 2 of the Conservation Regulations 1994. These make it illegal to:
- Intentionally or deliberately kill, injure or capture bats.
- Deliberately disturb bats, whether in a roost or not.
- Damage, destroy or obstruct access to bat roosts.
A bat roost is any structure or place which is used for shelter or protection, whether or not the bats are present at the time. For details on recognising bat roosts in trees, see Chapter 12 – Woodland habitats. For further details contact The Bat Conservation Trust.
European Protected Species
Under the Conservation (Natural Habitats) Regulations 1994 it is an offence deliberately to kill, capture or disturb a European Protected Species, or to damage or destroy the breeding site or resting place of such an animal. Anyone wanting to undertake an operation that would breach these regulations must apply for a licence from the nature conservation agency.
European Protected Species of animals include horseshoe bats (all species), wild cat, dormouse, sand lizard, great crested newt, otter and smooth snake.
Shooting and hunting
The law regarding shooting, hunting and angling is complex. Most animals which are hunted have a close season when they are protected. This varies with different species and places. Control of deer and rabbits may be required as part of woodland management. For detailed information consult Law of the Countryside (Countryside Management Association, 1994) or other publications on countryside law. Detailed information is given in A Guide to Wildlife Law Enforcement in the UK (online at www.defra.gov.uk/paw).
