Information and Advisory Note Number 103 Back to menu
A guide to Sections 14 and 16 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981
1.1 Many species not native to Great Britain are established in the wild in
Scotland. These include:
• giant hogweed, a garden escape, now abundant on riversides;
• rhododendron, dominant to the exclusion of the native flora in many western
woodlands;
• New Zealand flatworms, unintentionally introduced, they prey upon earthworms
and can cause their local extinction;
• grey squirrels, deliberately released from 1890-1920, to 'enrich" the native
fauna;
• mink, escapees from fur farms, now established along rivers;
• red-necked wallabies, introduced to the Loch Lomond area in 1975;
• ruddy ducks which escaped from Slimbridge in the 1950s and have since spread
to Spain, where hybridisation with native white-headed ducks seems likely to
culminate in the tatter's extinction; and
• night herons - a free flying population lives in the vicinity of Edinburgh
Zoo.
2.1 Introduced to a new environment, a species can disrupt life for those
already established. This is as true of native species as it is of aliens. Thus
although hedgehogs are native to Scotland, they do not occur naturally in the
Outer Hebrides
and, since being released there, have preyed upon ground-nesting birds.
2.2 Even the use of native species within their natural range requires much
greater care than it is normally accorded. Landscaping schemes may specify
native species but the seed used often comes from elsewhere in Europe. While
many of those which germinate may fail to thrive, those which set seed can
reduce the local population's ability to survive.
3.1 As well as reacting adversely with other species, plants and animals
released into the wild can, once established, be damaging to human health and
safety or conflict with commercial activities. Hence there are legal provisions
governing the release of some species, both natives and aliens.
3.2 Under the Destructive Imported Animals Act 1932, it is forbidden to import
or keep grey squirrels¹ and mink. It is prohibited to keep mink on any offshore
island other than Arran (including Holy Island), and in Caithness and
Sutherland². Elsewhere, an annual licence is required which, to import and keep
mink, currently costs £630 or, to keep mink for exhibition or scientific
research, costs £60³
1 The Grey Squirrels (Prohibition of
Importation and Keeping) Order 1937.
2 The Mink Keeping Order 1997.
3 The Mink (Keeping) (Amendment) Regulations 1997
3.3 International Conventions agreed at Bern and Rio de Janeiro advocate caution
when introducing non-native species. The precautionary principle is given effect
through the European Council Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds 1979
and that on the Conservation of Natural Habitats, Wild Fauna and Flora 1992 (see
Annex 1).
3.4 These are supplemented by guidelines on translocations, re-introductions,
biological control and the introduction and transfer of marine organisms.
3.5 The European requirements are implemented through domestic legislation, in
particular for species through Part I of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.
Section 14 prohibits releasing or allowing to escape into the wild all
non-native animals.
3.6 Species of particular concern, which must not be released or allowed to
escape, are listed in Schedule 9 of the Act (Annex 2). These include animals
established in the wild, mostly non-native, but also a few which are native,
plus a short list of non-native plants. Only releases licensed under Section 16
of the Act are permitted.
3.7 The native animals have either a markedly declining population (bam owl) or
the British population became extinct and the species has been reintroduced (capercaillie,
white-tailed eagle). Both scenarios need care in boosting populations.
3.8 Before its inclusion on Schedule 9, there were numerous well-intentioned,
but unregulated, releases of barn owls. Such releases hinder attempts to monitor
the wild populations and could interfere with official recovery programmes.
3.9 Furthermore, such releases raise significant welfare issues. The Abandonment
o f Animals Act 1960 prohibits abandoning an animal (the definition of which
includes any bird, fish or reptile), even temporarily, in circumstances likely
to cause it unnecessary suffering.
3.10 With the implementation of the UK
Biodiversity Action Plan, proposals to boost populations of priority species can
be expected to increase. Releases of animals are prohibited under Section 14 if
the stock is of a 'kind' not native to Great Britain.4
3.11 The Secretary of State may add or remove species from Schedule 9 as
necessary. The first comprehensive review of Schedule 9 was completed by the
Joint Nature Conservation Committee in 1996 and is currently being considered by
Government.
4.1 Given the ease with which animals can escape, prohibition applies not only to intentional release, but also to escape -particularly if negligence is evident. Particular care is required to prevent escapes from glasshouses and, in fresh and marine waters, from cages or pens.
5.1 Organisms covered may include subspecies and hybrids. They range from
microscopic invertebrates to mammals, but groups such as viruses, bacteria,
protozoa and fungi are excluded (but see Paragraph 11.6).
5.2 All stages of an animal's life cycle are covered, including eggs, semen,
embryos, larvae and pupae.
5.3 For the plants on Schedule 9, it is forbidden to cause them to grow in the
wild. All parts capable of regeneration, such as seeds, spores, roots, rhizomes
or thalloid material are subject to control.
6.1 Section 14 makes it an offence to release, or allow to escape into the wild,
any animal of a ' kind which is not
ordinarily resident in and is not a regular visitor to Great Britain in a wild
state'.
4 The DoE guide (see 'Further reading') is categoric that releases are
prohibited 'if the non-native stock consists of a sub-species which is not
native to Great Britain.'
6.2 This definition and a similar one for birds (Section 27) have been found
unsatisfactory in practice, failing as they do to differentiate between
established exotic species (which have thus become, it is argued, 'ordinarily
resident") from native species.
6.3 It is also an offence to release, or allow to escape, any animal; or to
plant, or otherwise cause to grow in the wild, any plant named in Schedule 9.
6.4 A person guilty of an offence is liable under Section 21 to a fine. On
summary conviction (i.e. not before a jury), the fine will not exceed the
statutory maximum, currently £5,000.
6.5 On conviction on indictment (i.e. before a jury), the fine is potentially
unlimited.
6.6 It may be a defence if it can be shown that all reasonable steps and due
diligence were taken to avoid committing an offence. So far as is known, there
have been no prosecutions.
7.1 Section 16 provides a power, where there are valid reasons, for the
'appropriate authority' to grant licences controlling the release of plants and
animals otherwise prohibited under Section 14. The 'appropriate authority' is
usually the Secretary of State for Scotland5.
7.2 Applications, made to The Scottish Office Agriculture, Environment and
Fisheries Department (SOAEFD), are considered on a case-by-case basis. The
Secretary of State may consult Scottish Natural Heritage or may take independent
expert advice from the Advisory Committee on Releases to the Environment.
7.3 Section 16(10) of the 1981 Act specifically requires the agriculture
Minister to consult SNH from time to time on the issue of licences.
5 In the case of barn owls, the 'appropriate authority is currently the
Secretary of State for the Environment.
7.4 Subject to compliance with the
conditions attached to a licence, it is not
an offence to release an otherwise
prohibited species. The conditions are
likely to include:
• use of disease free stock from specified sources;
• maximum numbers to be released and the frequency and location of release;
• monitoring, including immediate notification to the appropriate authority of
any adverse effects; and
• the submission of a report on the outcome of the release and monitoring.
7.5 Licences are for a specified period, but may be renewed, although a licence
will not be renewed unless a report has been submitted on the outcome of the
previous release.
7.6 For descriptive purposes, licences may be sub-divided into those permitting
release, those for the supply of stock and those to grow the stock as a crop.
• A licence for release may be issued for re-establishment or experimental
purposes . For example, SNH requires a licence to release white-tailed eagles.
• Only species which fulfil the IUCN -World Conservation Union Guidelines are
likely to be proposed by SNH for release. The Guidelines advise, among other
things, that factors believed to have caused the initial demise must no longer
apply.
• Potential re-introductions, such as the European beaver will, in addition, be
subject to public consultation before the Government decides whether to
authorise re-introduction.
• A supplier's licence is required when the release of a non-native species
would be the incidental outcome of a commercial operation. Thus a company
supplying a non-native predator to control a native pest on a greenhouse crop
would need to be licensed against its accidental release or allowing it to
escape into the wild
from either their premises or those of a grower to whom they supply it.
• A grower's licence would be required by a company applying the non-native
predator to their crop, protecting them against accidental release or allowing
it to escape into the wild. The grower does not have to apply for this licence;
it is issued to the supplier for distribution to growers. It is the grower's
responsibility to comply with the conditions of the licence and failure to do so
would be an offence.
8.1 Enforcement of national and international wildlife controls, including
liaison with the Police and HM Customs and Excise is co-ordinated by the
Wildlife Crime and Inspectorate Branch of the Department of Environment,
Transport and the Regions (DETR).
8.2 Where the appropriate authority considers a proposed release should be
inspected, a condition to that effect will be included in the licence. The
inspection can be carried out at any reasonable time and an appointment is not
required. Where necessary, the Inspectorate will encourage the Police to take
appropriate enforcement action.
9.1 Applications for the release of fish and shellfish should be made to SOAEFD.
To protect native salmon populations there is a presumption against the issue of
licences for the introduction of American land-locked salmon species where
native Atlantic salmon populations might exist.
9.2 Given their mobility and impossibility of containment, there is a general
presumption under The Prohibition of the Keeping of Live Fish (Crayfish)
(Scotland) Order 1996 against licensing the introduction of non-native crayfish
into any waters.
10.1 Organisms which have been genetically modified are subject to The Genetically Modified Organisms (Deliberate Release) Regulations 1992 and 1995 and The Genetically Modified Organisms (Deliberate Release and Risk Assessment) Regulations 1997 made under Part VI of the Environmental Protection Act 1990. These will be the subject of a future Information and Advisory Note, entitled The release and marketing of Genetically Modified Organisms'.
11.1 Animal and plant health considerations may apply. The import rules applying
to vertebrates, which include The Rabies (Importation of Dogs, Cats and other
Mammals) Order 1974 (as amended in 1986) should be ascertained before
importation from MAFF's Animal Health (International Trade) Division.
11.2 Imports of invertebrate species, their host plants or prey, plant material,
pathogens and soil may need to be licensed by SOAEFD under the Plant Health
(Great Britain) Order 1993.
11.3 SOAEFD should also be consulted under the above Order about proposals to
import domesticated honey bees (Apis). If there is any likelihood of damage to
plants in Great Britain being caused by non-native organisms, SOAEFD must be
informed.
11.4 Importers may also require licences from the DETR Wildlife Trade Licensing
Branch under EC Regulation 3626/82 implementing the Convention on International
Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).
11.5 Some biological control agents may be considered as pesticides under the
Food and Environment Protection Act 1985, which is given effect through The
Control of Pesticides Regulations 1986 (COPR) and the Plant Protection Products
Regulations 1995.
11.6 Regulation 3(2)(a) of COPR applies to bacteria, protozoa, fungi, viruses
and mycoplasmas used for destroying or controlling pests.
11.7 Further information on pesticides can be obtained from MAFF's Pesticides
Safety Directorate.
This Information and Advisory Note has been derived from:
The Regulation and Control of the Release of Non-native Animals and Plants into
the Wild in Great Britain: a Guide to Sections 14 and 16 of the Wildlife and
Countryside Act 1981. Department of the Environment, The Stationery Office,
London, 1997.
See also:
Wildlife Crime: a Guide to Wildlife Law
Enforcement in the UK (1 996).
Department of the Environment and The
Scottish Office. The Stationery Office,
London,
Wildlife the Law and You (1998). Scottish Natural Heritage, Battleby, Perth.
Species Action Programme (1995). Scottish Natural Heritage, Battleby, Perth.
Dr Stephen D Ward
Species Group, Advisory Services
Scottish Natural Heritage
2 Anderson Place
EDINBURGH
EH6 5NP
Tel: 0131-447 4784 Fax: 0131-446 2405
Scottish Natural Heritage
Species Group
Advisory Services
2 Anderson Place
EDINBURGH
EH6 5NP
Tel: 0131-446 2460
Fax: 0131-446 2405
Releases to the wild
The Scottish Office
Agriculture, Environment and Fisheries Department
Countryside and Natural Heritage
Pentland House
47 Robb's Loan
EDINBURGH
EH141TY
Licences for birds, animals and plants:
Tel: 0131-244 6548 Fax: 0131-244 4071
Licences for fish and shellfish:
Tel: 0131-244 6224 Fax: 0131-244 6313
Enforcement of legislation relating to licensed
releases
Department of the Environment, Transport and
Regions
Wildlife Crime and Inspectorate Branch
Room 810, Tollgate House
Houlton Street
BRISTOL
BS2 9DJ
Tel: 0117-987 8148
Fax: 0117-987 8393
Convention on International Trade in
Endangered Species Department of the Environment
Wildlife Trade Licensing Branch
Room 822, Tollgate House
Houlton Street
BRISTOL
BS2 9DJ
Tel: 0117-987 8691
Fax: 0117-987 8206
Pesticides
Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food
Pesticides Safety Directorate
Mallard House
Kings Pool
3 Peasholme Green
YORK
Y012PX
Tel: 01904 640500 (ask for Information
Department) Fax: 01904 455711
Importation of Non-native Species Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food
Animal Health (international Trade Division)
Government Buildings
Hook Rise South
Tolworth
SURBITON
Surrey
KT6 7NF
Tel: 0181-330 8169
Fax: 0181-330 6678
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