Scottish wildcat - law & licensing Sally Blyth Species - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Scottish Natural Heritage Dualchas Nàdair na h-Alba

Scottish wildcat - law & licensing

Sally Blyth Species legislation adviser

Scottish Natural Heritage Dualchas Nàdair na h-Alba

Objectives

• Understand how the law protects the

wildcat

• Outline licensing approach
• Implications

Scottish Natural Heritage Dualchas Nàdair na h-Alba

Scottish wildcat & the law

Habitats Directive given legal effect through Habitats Regulations 1994 (as amended) European protected species - Annex IVa animals whose natural range includes GB

• listed on Schedule 2 to the Regulations
• Many offences
• Some exceptions (e.g. licensed work)

Scottish Natural Heritage Dualchas Nàdair na h-Alba

Offences

To deliberately or recklessly: capture, injure, kill, harass, disturb in specific circumstances*, obstruct access to or deny use of breeding site or resting place To damage or destroy a breeding site or resting place (wildcat den), even accidentally

Scottish Natural Heritage Dualchas Nàdair na h-Alba

* Disturbance offences

An offence to deliberately or recklessly disturb:

• whilst occupying shelter/place of protection
• whilst rearing/caring for young
• so likely to significantly affect distribution or

abundance

• so likely to impair ability to survive or breed

Scottish Natural Heritage Dualchas Nàdair na h-Alba

The guilty mind

Deliberate actions – intentional Reckless actions:

• if you’re aware of the likelihood of causing disturbance,

injury etc. & you carry on regardless; or

• if you act in a way that a reasonable person could have

foreseen what would happen & you carry on regardless

Scottish Natural Heritage Dualchas Nàdair na h-Alba

Forestry/development operations might

• damage/destroy a den site
• directly [e.g. when frequent high impact activities (noise or

vibration) occur close to den sites]

• indirectly if landscape surrounding a den is altered
• cause disturbance by altering their habitat to make it less

viable

Scottish Natural Heritage Dualchas Nàdair na h-Alba

Licensing (SNH is licensing authority)

• Three licensing tests must be passed
• Proportionate approach is applied
• Licence is the last resort

Licensing helpline: 01463 725 364 Email: licensing@snh.gov.uk

Scottish Natural Heritage Dualchas Nàdair na h-Alba

Test 1 legal purposes – limited reasons

• Survey
• Preserving public health or safety or other imperative

reasons of overriding public interest

Scottish Natural Heritage Dualchas Nàdair na h-Alba

Test 2 – No satisfactory alternative

What alternatives are there to the granting of a licence? [ or can the work be done differently to avoid committing an

• ffence?]
• consider a range of alternatives
• robust & strong arguments required

Scottish Natural Heritage Dualchas Nàdair na h-Alba

Test 3 – Impact on maintenance of Favourable Conservation Status (FCS)

FCS – population, range, habitat Conservation status of wildcat is ‘Bad (declining)’

• licensing tests applied more strictly
• Net impact of licensed work must be neutral or positive

Scottish Natural Heritage Dualchas Nàdair na h-Alba

‘Regard’ to the Habitats Directive

Regulation 3(3) ‘a competent authority, in exercising their functions, must have regard to the requirements of the Habitats Directive so far as they may be affected by the exercise of those functions’.

• Is a wildcat present?
• If so, how will animal(s) be affected?
• Can an offence be avoided?
• Will licensing tests be met?

Scottish Natural Heritage Dualchas Nàdair na h-Alba

Scottish Natural Heritage Dualchas Nàdair na h-Alba

Thank you