Information on the new General Licences for Wales, applicable from 1 July 2022

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The new versions of GL001, GL002, GL004 and GL005, valid from 1^st July, are now available on the general licences page of the NRW website: 

Natural Resources Wales / General licences for birds 2022

The current versions of the four licences are valid until 30^th June and will remain accessible on the website until then. All the other general licences which were granted by NRW on 1^st January 2022 are unchanged.  

The NGO had sight of preview versions of the licences. In those, the NRW had proposed changes that we believed would make the licences unworkable. We suggested changes to these licences, and the NGO have therefore been instrumental in enabling operators to carry on with important conservation and crop protection work.

The main changes made to the preview versions of the licences thanks to NGO advice are: 

♦The condition restricting use of the general licences to persons over 18 years old has been removed. There is no specific age restriction on general licence users.

♦The condition requiring birds which have been injured by licenced action to be pursued and humanely dispatched has been amended to require the licensee to make reasonable endeavours to do so. This recognises that in some cases the safe and lawful pursuit of an injured bird may be impossible, for example due to the nature of the environment, physical obstacles or land ownership. 

♦The condition requiring firearms to be used only within their effective range has been removed and an advisory note to that effect has been included. The licences continue to include a condition requiring birds to be quickly and humanely dispatched. 

♦The condition requiring trap users to report incidental capture of non-target species has been amended so it applies only to European protected species of animals, and birds of prey. This is to avoid the necessity of reporting capture and release of common non-target species.

♦The condition requiring licence users to have the permission of the owner/occupier of the land has been removed, to avoid duplication with the definition of ‘authorised persons’ entitled to rely on the licence.

♦In GL001 and GL004, the condition requiring decoy birds to be of the same species as the target species has been modified to state that, in GL001, only carrion crow, magpie or jackdaw may be used as live decoys, and in GL004 only carrion crow may be used.

♦The condition requiring live decoy birds to be provided with food and water at all times while held captive has been modified to apply only while the decoy is in the trap.

 

New Licences that come into play as of the 1^st July 2022 are as follows

SPECIES CONTROL AT A GLANCE

The Licences.

GL01:   https://naturalresources.wales/permits-and-permissions/species-licensing/list-of-protected-species/bird-licensing/general-licences/general-licence-001/?lang=en

Valid from 1^st July 2022 – 31^st December 2022

Licence to kill or take certain wild birds to prevent serious damage to livestock, foodstuffs for livestock, crops, vegetables or fruit or to prevent the spread of disease to livestock, foodstuffs for livestock, crops, vegetables or fruit. 

Under this licence, only carrion crow, magpie or jackdaw may be used as live decoys

GL02: https://naturalresources.wales/permits-and-permissions/species-licensing/list-of-protected-species/bird-licensing/general-licences/general-licence-002/?lang=en

Valid from 1^st July 2022 – 31^st December 2022

Licence to kill or take certain wild birds for the purpose of preserving public health and preventing the spread of disease.

GL04: https://cdn.cyfoethnaturiol.cymru/media/694501/general-licence-004-english-2022.pdf

Valid from 31^st July 2022 – 31^st August 2022

Licence to kill or take certain wild birds for the purpose of conserving certain wild birds. This licence can only be used to conserve the chicks and eggs of birds listed on Annex 1 of this licence.

Under this licence only carrion crow may be used as live decoys.

Cage traps

If cage traps are being used then only Carrion Crow, Magpie and Jackdaw may be used.

To recap

General Licences do not have to be applied for but, you need to read and understand which licence is specific to the pest control operation that you are carrying out. You must adhere to all of the terms and conditions of the relevant licence in the links above. Authorised persons intending to carry out activities under this licence are advised to print, sign and date out the relevant licence and keep it with you to show that you have read and understood how the licences work.