BPCA is advising all members that they should apply for their individual licences for gull control in good time for breeding season.

On 30 January Natural England released details of changes to the individual licences for the control of Lesser black-backed and Herring gulls, which you can read more about here. 

Defra’s general licences for birds will continue to omit these species, because of their poor conservation status.

Class licence WML-CL12 permits the control of lesser black-backed gulls and herring gulls for air safety purposes. You need to register with Natural England to use this class licence.

How do you go about applying for the individual licences and what considerations need to be taken into account? 

Step by step

You can apply for licence A08 if you need to control wild birds because you have concerns about:

• disease or damage to agricultural land
• public health and safety
• conserving plants and animals.

First check your circumstances are not covered by a general licence for birds.

This licence is free of charge and Natural England will make a decision regarding your application within 30 days of receipt. 

Submitting your application

Individual licence application form A08 is available on the Gov.uk website. 

Apply here

You can also find an Integrated Pest Management plan template here. 

You MUST INCLUDE all information requested by Natural England in order to minimise the risk of your application being delayed or refused. Guidance can be found on the Natural England website. 

Attach completed forms and send by email to: GenLicencePh2@naturalengland.org.uk.

Or send completed forms to:

Wildlife Licensing Natural England
Horizon House
Deanery Road
Bristol, BS1 5AH