Scottish Natural Heritage has reassured users of their general licences that they remain in place in Scotland.

In light of the recent decision by Natural England to revoke three of their general licences for controlling certain wild birds, Scottish Natural Heritage has said:

“We would like to firstly reassure those who are currently operating under our similar licences that these remain in place in Scotland, allowing those who comply with the conditions to continue to use them.

“Our General Licences cover relatively common situations, such as preventing agricultural damage and protecting public health and safety where there’s unlikely to be any conservation impact.

“They avoid the need for people to apply for individual licences for these specific circumstances”.

This means that professional pest management companies in Scotland can continue to use the Scottish versions of the general license and we have some assurances that this won’t change in the short term.

Scottish Natural Heritage continued:

“We are aware that this decision by Natural England is linked to a legal challenge.

“The legal system is slightly different here in Scotland, but we are following this case carefully to see if there are any implications for us.

“Taking into account the outcome of the process in England and after consultation with our legal advisors, we will then consider if there may be any changes required to our licences.

“As with any review of our licences, we would seek to ensure an appropriate period of consultation to gather views on any planned changes, allow sufficient time for any adjustments to take place and for users to be made aware”.

Wales and Northern Ireland

At least for now, we do not expect Wales and Northern Ireland to revoke their general licenses.

BPCA has reached out to the equivalent bodies in Wales (Natural Resources Wales) and Northern Ireland (Northern Ireland Environment Agency) for similar assurances on their comparable licenses for bird control.

We’ll continue to share updates as we get them.