Law on Captruing, Keeping and Disturbing Native UK Reptiles and other Herps

[Lizard Loft]

Due to so many people either not knowing the laws or getting them wrong concerning captuing, keeping and disturbng native british reptile and other herps i thought i would make this thread in order to make it clear for everyone.

Under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 all native reptiles and amphibians are covered by some form of protection and laws, the levels of this protection however differs depending upon the species concerned, and this is where people get confused.

The protection and laws are explained below;

1. Full protection

This applies to the great crested newt, natterjack toad, sand lizard and smooth snake and to all species of marine turtle (i.e. the families Dermochelyidae and Cheloniidae) when found in British waters. All parts of Section 9 apply. This prohibits the intentional killing. injuring or taking (capture. etc); possession; intentional disturbance whilst occupying a 'place used for shelter or protection' and destruction of these places; sale, barter. exchange. transporting for sale and advertising to sell or to buy.

2. Protection against killing, injuring and sale

"This level of protection applies to the four widespread species of reptile, namely the common lizard, slow-worm, grass snake and adder. Only part of sub-section 9(1) and all of sub-section 9(5) apply; these prohibit the intentional killing and injuring and trade (i.e. sale, barter, exchange, transporting for sale and advertising to sell or to buy). It is not an offence under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 to possess these animals.

3. Protection against sale only

The four widespread species of amphibian, the smooth and palmate newts, the common frog and common toad, are protected only by Section 9(5) of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. This section prohibits sale, barter, exchange, transporting for sale and advertising to sell or to buy. Collection and keeping of these widespread amphibian species is not an offence.

*** sale etc refers not only to live animals but also to any parts or derivitives. Offspring of animals taken from the wild cannot be sold, the animals must be at least 5th generation in order for them to be sold, and proving this to authorities is very difficult ***


In simplified terms....

The species mentioned in 1. Full protection which are;
Great crested newt,
Natterjack toad,
Sand lizard
Smooth snake
all species of marine turtle

Are under full protection and cannot be, captured, kept, killed, sold or even disturbed!

The species in 2. Protection against killing, injuring and sale, which are;
Common lizard,
Slow-worm,
Grass snake
Adder

Are protected against killing, injuring or selling, but can be captured from the wild and kept as pets for individual purposes

The species mention in 3. Protection against sale only which are;

Smooth and palmate newts,
Common frog
Common toad

Are only protected againt trade, exchange and sale, this can also be captured from the wild and kept as pets for individual use.

Hope this helps people, and clears up any confusion

[Lizard Loft]

oh yeah, if anyone wants to suggest this as a sticky or any mods want to make it a sticky feel free

[daftlassieEmma]

good thread! someone made one on slow worm law but it got lost amongst all the arguing....

it's nice to see all the species in one post

[Lizard Loft]

Originally Posted by daftlassieEmma

good thread! someone made one on slow worm law but it got lost amongst all the arguing....

it's nice to see all the species in one post

Thanks, i thought it was about time and didnt know if it had been done so i did it anyway incase it hadn't

[EdC]

Definite sticky!!

[ian14]

Just to add a littlwe extra, sale etc refers not only to live animals but also to any parts or derivitives.
CB natives can be legally sold however to date, I am not aware of any precedent as to how you would prove this.
There is also debate as to whether offspring you have bred from WC parents would be seen as "derivitives" or if the parents would also need to be CB.

[Lizard Loft]

Originally Posted by ian14

Just to add a littlwe extra, sale etc refers not only to live animals but also to any parts or derivitives.
CB natives can be legally sold however to date, I am not aware of any precedent as to how you would prove this.
There is also debate as to whether offspring you have bred from WC parents would be seen as "derivitives" or if the parents would also need to be CB.

Thanks mate ill add that in

[wildlifewarrior]

Originally Posted by ian14

Just to add a littlwe extra, sale etc refers not only to live animals but also to any parts or derivitives.
CB natives can be legally sold however to date, I am not aware of any precedent as to how you would prove this.
There is also debate as to whether offspring you have bred from WC parents would be seen as "derivitives" or if the parents would also need to be CB.

There has been one case with slow worms in newcastle about 4 years ago....defra were asked prior to the person selling them....the babies he was selling were from captivebred adults...those adults were from wc parents.
all breedings and hatchings were photographed and a reptile vet reported that they were captive bred.....and that was enough proof to sell them on.

[Matt Harris]

Originally Posted by Lizard Loft

*** sale etc refers not only to live animals but also to any parts or derivitives. Offspring of animals taken from the wild cannot be sold, the animals must be at least 5th generation in order for them to be sold, and proving this to authorities is very difficult ***

I wondered when we'd get to 5th generation! This topic has been discussed regularly ever since I've been of these forums over the last five years - It started off that you could only sell 2nd generation, then NO - it's 3rd generation etc etc. I think I'll start taking bets on when someone comes out with 'you can only sell 6th generation cb native animals'!!!

None of it's true of course, and the law only prevents sale of 'wild' animals - there is no mention of captive bred, whether it be 2nd, 6th or 50th generation.

WCA 1981 section 9(5) prohibits trade of 'wild animals' listed in Schedule 5. 'Wild animal' is later defined in S. 27(1) as '...any animal (other than a bird) which is or (before it was killed or taken) was living in the wild'. This implies that F1 offspring are legal to sell, as they were never living in the wild.

Furthermore, is you extrapolate from birds to other animals, S. 27(2) says ' A bird shall not be treated as bred in captivity for the purposes of this Part unless its parents were lawfully in captivity when the egg was laid.'

I gather some other forum members have had guidance from DEFRA as to what can be legally traded, and this should be referred to in the guidance above.

Finally it would be worth referring to the general licences which allow sale of common native amphibians, within certain conditions, in England and Wales (don't know about Scotland or NI).

[Matt Harris]

Just a general point - many aspects of these laws are open to interpretation and/or have not been clarified by caselaw. Therefore, it's difficult to summarise the law in one post without just copying it straight from the statute. A lot of the time it's difficult to describe accurately what's right and wrong in black and white terms - so much is open to interpretation.