Wildlife Management Branch
Wildlife Management Branch has responsibility for all issues involving wild animals together in European Wildlife Division, while Animal Welfare has responsibility for those affecting mainly farmed animals and pets (see Annex A for a list of legislation for which for which Animal Welfare is responsible).Below is a summary of the issues dealt with by Wildlife Management Branch. Annex B provides full details of the legislation under which these duties arise, in case copy recipients ever need to refer to the issues in this level of detail:
- Control of vertebrate pests which cause damage to agriculture, fisheries, land and properties.
Linked to this, the department has a R&D programme to develop or encourage the development of cost-effective, humane and environmentally acceptable methods of vertebrate control in order to help balance the concerns of animal welfare and conservation groups on the one hand, with those of the farming and fishing interests on the other.
The key areas for the research are:
- Strategic research on novel forms of wildlife management (eg repellents and Conditioned Taste Aversion).
- wild birds (eg development of non-lethal techniques for reducing cormorant damage to inland fisheries)
- rabbits (eg development of a PC-based Decision Support System to assist DEFRA wildlife advisers in dealing with rabbit damage complaints and research on a novel method of fertility control )
- rodents (eg development of new strategies to address rodents' resistance to rodenticides)
- other mammal species such as deer or badgers (eg quantification of impacts and development and refinement of management techniques).
- Handling policy relating to the general welfare of badgers in England. The new branch is responsible for legislation governing specific offences against badgers (eg wilfully killing or injuring them, cruelly ill-treating them, damaging badger setts). Licences are required for action against badgers where this is necessary to prevent serious damage to land or property. EWD does not lead on the Krebs Trial and Bovine Tuberculosis. Policy lead for this lies with Animal Disease Control Division.
- Conservation of seals in England. Legislation provides that seals are protected - as a minimum - during their breeding season. At present there is a permanent close season on seals in the English waters they inhabit. Licences are required for the killing or taking of seals where this is necessary, eg to prevent damages to fisheries.
The team can be contacted at:
Wildlife Management Branch
European Wildlife Division
Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs
Zone 1/14d
Temple Quay House
2 The Square
Temple Quay
Bristol, BS1 6EB
Telephone: +44(0)117 372 8746
Fax: +44(0)117 372 8182
E-mail: wildlife.policy@defra.gsi.gov.uk
The issuing of licences for species control where responsibility has
moved to EWD - along with the provision of technical advice - is undertaken
by the RDS Wildlife Management Team
(www.defra.gov.uk/wildlife-countryside/vertebrates/default.htm).
Their administration unit can be contacted at:
Wildlife Administration Unit
Defra
Burghill Road
Westbury-on-Trym
Bristol
BS10 6NJ
Telephone: 08456 014523 (local rate)
Fax: 08456 013438 (local rate)
E-mail: enquiries.southwest@defra.gsi.gov.uk
Please quote: For attention of the Wildlife Administration Unit
Annex A - Legislation governing Animal Welfare's responsibilities
Protection of Animals Act 1911Protection of Animals Act (1911) amendment Act 1912
Performing Animals (Regulation) Act 1925
Protection of Animals Act (amendment) Act 1927
Protection of Animals Act 1934
Protection of Animals (amendment) Act 1954
Protection of Animals (amendment) Act 1988
Pet Animals Act 1951
Cock Fighting Act 1952
Abandonment of Animals Act 1960
Animal Boarding Establishment Act 1963
Riding Establishments Act 1964
Farriers Registration Act 1975
Pet Animals Act 1951
Protection Against Cruel Tethering Act 1988
Guard Dogs Act 1975
Breeding of Dogs Act 1973
Dogs Act 1871
Dogs Act 1906
Dangerous Dogs Act 1989
Dangerous Dogs Act 1906
Dangerous Dogs (amendment) Act 1997
Breeding and Sale of Dogs (welfare) Act 1999
Annex B- Legislation governing EWD's new responsibilities
Deer Act 1991
Conservation of Seals Act 1970
Wild Mammals (Protection) Act 1996
Night Poaching Act 1828
Game Act 1831
Night Poaching Act 1844
Hares Act 1848
Game Licences Act 1860
Poaching Prevention Act 1862
Ground Game Act 1906
Game Laws (Amendment) Act 1860
Game Act 1870
Protection of Badgers Act 1992
Agriculture Act 1947
Coypus (Prohibition on Keeping) Order 1987
Coypus (Special licence) (Fees) Regulations 1997
Dangerous Wild Animals Act 1976
Destructive Imported Animals Act 1932
Environmental Information Regulations 1992
Fur Farming (Prohibition) Act 2000
Grey Squirrels (Prohibition of Importation and Keeping) Order 1937
Ground Game Act 1880
Mink Keeping (England) Order 2000
Mink (Keeping) Regulations 1975
Mink (Keeping)(Amendment) Regulations 1997
Musk Rats (Prohibition of Importation and Keeping) Order 1933
Non-indigenous Rabbits (Prohibition of Importation and Keeping) Order
1954
Prevention of Damage by Pests Act 1949
Page modified: 28 September 2007
Page published: 11 August 2000