General licences

General licences are issued by government agencies to provide a legal basis for people to carry out a range of activities relating to wildlife.  By definition you do not need to apply for general licences but you are required by law to abide by their terms and conditions.

General licences are renewed annually in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.  These general licences are made available on the websites of the relevant government agencies and include those general licences relevant to the all year round control of ‘pest birds’ such as carrion and hooded crows, magpies and woodpigeon.  Control methods allowed under general licence may include shooting; the destruction of eggs and nests; and the use of cage traps such as larsen traps, larsen mates and multi-catch traps.

The rest of this webpage contains information about general licences in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

England

Click here for the 2012 English general licences

BASC has received the following advice from Natural England “the general licences do not permit hooded crows (Corvus cornix) to be controlled in England and we intend to consult on the inclusion of this species on future general licences later this year”.

BASC's response is "Given the lack of consultation by Natural England on the hooded crow and the bird's taxonomic history, BASC would regard any attempted prosecution for shooting or trapping a hooded crow to be an abuse of process and we would defend any member so accused pending the discussions that have been agreed to resolve the matter".

Click here for a BASC briefing on hooded crows and general licences

Scotland

Click here for the 2012 Scottish general licences

Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) have taken over responsibility from the Scottish Government for the renewal of the general licences on 1st January 2012.

Three weeks before Christmas, SNH issued a last minute consultation on proposed changes to the wording of the general licences. A key concern for BASC was a proposal to ban the use of Larsen mates (also known as clam/butterfly traps). Following robust responses from a range of fieldsports organisations, SNH have decided not to go ahead with the ban, but will be consulting again on this matter in 2012.

Wales

Click here for the 2012 Welsh general licences

There are no changes to the terms and conditions from the 2011 versions.

Northern Ireland

Click here for the 2012 Northern Irish general licences

General licences in Northern Ireland run on an annual cycle of 11th September 2011 to 10th September 2012. There were therefore no renewals due on 1st January 2012.

FIND OUT MORE

More general information is available from the BASC website on the control of avian and mammalian pests and predators, including relevant BASC codes of practice. 

Click here for information on Pest and Predator Control