Bird registration
Under Section 7 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, any captive bird of a species listed in Schedule 4 
[45KB] of the Act, must be registered with the Animal Health. For information on registration, please click here.
In 2006 Defra held a public consultation on the bird registration scheme to investigate the regulatory burden the scheme places on bird keepers. As a result of the consultation, changes have been made to legislation relating to the registration of birds in England that come into effect from 1 October 2008. Until that date, keepers should continue to register specimens of all 59 species currenlty listed on Schedule 4.
The changes
Schedule 4 to the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981
In England 50 species and all hybrid birds will be removed from Schedule 4 from the 1st October 2008.
9 species will remain on Schedule 4, these are:
- white-tailed sea eagle
- Montagu’s harrier
- honey buzzard
- osprey
- marsh harrier
- goshawk
- golden eagle
- peregrine falcon
- merlin
The Wildlife and Countryside (Registration and Ringing of Certain Captive Birds) Regulations 1982
Specimens (of the 9 species listed on Schedule 4) that are marked with a CITES approved ring or mark (e.g. a microchip) will be marked for the purpose of registration and will not require separate marking with a ring issued by the Wildlife Licensing and Registration Service (WLRS). This brings the ringing regulations in line with those for Wales.
Specimens of merlin and peregrine falcon that have a CITES Article 10 certificate issued by the UK Management Authority (UKMA) will be considered registered for the purposes of Schedule 4.
What the changes mean for keepers in England
Registration
There will be no change in the registration procedures for specimens of white-tailed sea eagle, Montagu’s harrier, honey buzzard, osprey, marsh harrier, goshawk or golden eagle.
From the 1st October 2008, if you acquire a peregrine falcon or merlin that is covered by a CITES Article 10 certificate issued by the UKMA, this bird is considered to be registered. You will not need to make a separate application to register that specimen, nor will you be required to pay a separate fee for registration. This applies whether the Article 10 certificate is specimen specific or transaction specific.
From the 1st October 2008, if you acquire a peregrine falcon or merlin that does not have CITES Article 10 certificate you will need to register the bird and pay the appropriate registration fee.
From the 1st October 2008, hybrids of species listed on Schedule 4 will no longer need to be registered.
From the 1st October 2008 the following species (and their hybrids) will no longer need to be registered in England.
Cirl bunting, Lapland bunting, snow bunting, Adalbert’s eagle, great Phillipine eagle, imperial eagle, new guinea eagle, chough, crossbills (all species), barbary falcon, gyr falcon, fieldfare, firecrest, Madagascar fish-eagle, plumbeous forest-falcon, hen harrier, galapagos hawk, grey-backed hawk, hawaiian hawk, Ridgway’s hawk, white-necked hawk, Wallace’s hawk-eagle, hobby, black honey-buzzard, lesser kestrel, Mauritius kestrel, red kite, golden oriole, black redstart, redwing, Pallas’ sea-eagle, Steller’s sea-eagle, serin, Andaman serpent-eagle, Madagascar serpent-eagle, mountain serpent-eagle, shorelark, red-backed shrike, New Britain sparrowhawk, Gundlach’s sparrowhawk, imitator sparrowhawk, small sparrowhawk, bearded tit, crested tit, Cetti’s warbler, Dartford warbler, marsh warbler, Savi’s warbler, woodlark, wryneck.
Ringing
From 1st October 2008, specimens of all of the 9 species on Schedule 4 that are marked with a CITES approved ring or mark (under Commission regulation (EC) No. 865/2006) will be marked for the purposes of registration. This will mean that specimens will not require separate marking with a ring issued by WLRS.
Registration and ringing requirements within England of bird species listed on Schedule 4 from 1st October 2008
Species |
white-tailed sea eagle, Montagu’s harrier, honey buzzard, osprey, marsh harrier, goshawk, golden eagle
|
merlin, peregrine falcon |
||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Registration |
With Article 10 certificate issued by UKMA |
Without Article 10 certificate |
With Article 10 certificate issued by UKMA |
Without Article 10 certificate |
Do I need to make an application to WLRS to register my bird and pay a fee? |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
Ringing |
Marked in accordance with Article 66 |
Not marked in accordance with Article 66 |
Marked in accordance with Article 66 |
Not marked in accordance with Article 66 |
Does my bird need a ring issued by WLRS? |
No |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
Page last modified: 8 September 2008