Statutory guidance

Additional conditions for CL48 and CL49: to protect land, species and habitats when cage-trapping or marking badgers

Updated 27 April 2023

Applies to England

The conditions and notes below apply to all land in England, above mean low water mark, including on and adjacent to protected sites: special areas of conservation (SACs), special protection areas (SPAs), sites of special scientific interest (SSSIs) and Ramsar sites.

If you are unable to comply with these conditions, you will need to contact Natural England at [email protected] for advice.

Licence conditions

Restrictions on vehicle use

1. On any land

You cannot use a vehicle on any land within 200 metres of:

• any intertidal habitat
• a large waterbody (for example, a pond)
• a reed-bed that is more than 25 metres across
• grazing marsh field
• any watercourses (for example, a river) or alongside waterbodies
• any other type of wetland, including fen, bog or mire

You can only use vehicles on existing tracks.

2. Within any protected site

You must restrict vehicles to existing tracks within any protected site.

Protected site locations can be found using the Magic Map Application by clicking on Designations, then Land-Based Designations, then Statutory.

Restrictions relating to trap placement and point bait activity

3. Placing traps

Traps must not be placed on any land, unless within the sett footprint, within any wetland or riparian habitat, including any fen, bog, mire, reed-bed, seasonal river-bed or waterbody.

4. Digging in traps

Traps must not be dug in on any land, unless within the sett footprint alongside any of the habitats described by condition 3 above.

5. Setting traps within a sett footprint

Within any protected site, you can only set traps within the sett footprint. Trap placement beyond the sett footprint may only be carried out where Defra and Natural England have given prior written approval subject to any additional conditions that they feel appropriate. That approval (including any conditions it is subject to) will be evidenced by an annex to this licence.

6. Do not set traps or pre-bait before 15 April

Within any protected site, trap placements and pre-baiting should not be carried out before 15 April.

7. Do not use any fish-based bait

Restrictions relating to birds

8. Do not disturb raptors at traditional raptor roost sites

Some species of raptors gather at traditional sites to roost overnight during the non-breeding season and many of these exist on protected sites. Operators should therefore determine if activities permitted under licence are proposed on a protected site with notified or designed non-breeding bird features that are:

• hen harrier
• merlin
• short-eared owl

Sites details can be accessed online via Magic Map Application (defra.gov.uk) and Site Search (naturalengland.org.uk).

Where relevant, the operator should make prior contact with the landowner or occupier to identify traditional raptor roost site locations in order to avoid disturbance.

9. Do not disturb large flocks of waterbirds

Large numbers of wading birds and wildfowl gather to roost and forage on and beside waterbodies, shorelines and other wetland habitats.

Persons operating under this licence will need to avoid disturbing such birds when they are gathered in large flocks. Depending on circumstances, operators will need to be up to a few hundred metres away but working at closer distances may be possible and can still avoid disturbance, such as by operating under cover or are screened from view.

10. Do not disturb colonies of breeding birds

Seabirds, gulls and some other species nest collectively in large colonies to breed in a variety of habitats.

Persons operating under this licence will need to avoid disturbing these colonies.

Depending on circumstances, operators will need to be up to a few hundred metres away but working at closer distances may be possible and can still avoid disturbance, such as by operating under cover or are screened from view.

11. Activities conducted under this licence must comply with existing legal obligations

All birds, their eggs and nests (while in use or under construction) are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.

This licence does not allow you to take or destroy such nests. Bird species listed under Schedule 1 of that Act have additional legal protection so care must be taken to avoid their disturbance during the breeding season.

Restrictions relating to bats

12. Do not disturb any roosting bat

All bats and their roosts (even when not occupied by bats) are protected by the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and by The Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017.

This licence does not allow you to enter or obstruct any bat roost, nor to disturb any bat whilst it is occupying a roost.

Care must be taken to avoid sustained human presence near, or artificial illumination of, cracks and cavities in trees and man-made structures, and of any mounted boxes.

13. Entrances to caves, mines, or shafts

No access within 20 metres of any entrance to a cave, mine or shaft at any time of the year.

14. Activities conducted under this licence must comply with legal obligations

European protected species

European protected species are listed in Schedule 2 (animals) and Schedule 5 (plants) of the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017.

Nationally Protected Species are listed in Schedule 5 (animals) and Schedule 8 (plants) of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (as amended). Under these laws (regulations 43 and 47 of the 2017 Regulations and sections 9 and 13 of the 1981 Act), it can be an offence to:

• deliberately capture, injure or kill any wild animal of a European protected species
• intentionally kill, injure or take a nationally protected wild animal
• deliberately disturb wild animals of any European protected species
• intentionally or recklessly damage or destroy any structure or place which a nationally protected animal uses for shelter or protection, disturb such an animal while it is occupying such a structure or place, or obstruct access to any such structure or place
• damage or destroy a breeding site or resting place of any wild animal of a European protected species
• deliberately take or destroy the eggs of any wild animal of a European protected species
• deliberately pick, collect, cut, uproot or destroy a wild plant of a European protected species
• intentionally pick, uproot or destroy any nationally protected wild plant

Great crested newt, otter, dormouse, and sand lizard are European and nationally protected species.

Interpretation

Within these licence conditions, use of the word ‘avoid’ denotes a prohibition, meaning it indicates that an area must be excluded from relevant activities or that activities must not be undertaken during the time period stated or in the manner described. Similarly, the word ‘restrict’ means that activities must be confined to the areas or time periods stated.

For further details on protected sites and their notified features of special interest or a European site’s qualifying features please enter the site name into the Designated Sites View.