Application form for a licence to kill or take certain wild birds or to take or destroy their nests or eggs

1. This application form is for a specific licence to kill or take certain wild birds or to take or destroy their nests or eggs under Sections 16 (1) Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. Applicants are advised to check if they are able to act under a NRW general bird licence before applying by visiting our website (opens in new tab).

2. Natural Resources Wales (NRW), in exercise of the powers conferred under Section 16 (1) c, cb, d, i, j and k of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, may issue licences to permit the killing or taking of wild birds, provided that there is no other satisfactory solution.

3. Under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (WCA) failure to comply with the terms of a Licence may make the licensee liable to prosecution for an offence.

4. Licences will normally only be granted to the owner or occupier of the land where action will be taken, or a person authorised by the owner or occupier.

5. Applicants must provide detailed evidence of the problem that is occurring, or is likely to occur, which requires action to be taken against wild birds. This may include evidence gathered from previous years’ experiences and any information about the current numbers of birds present. Photographic or video evidence should be provided, unless there is a valid reason for not doing so.

6. Technical staff from NRW or their agents may visit the site where the action is intended to be taken during the assessment of an application to verify the information provided on the application form and to discuss what preventative measures are currently employed or have been used in the past. No licences will be granted unless non-lethal deterrent methods or defensive barriers are in operation where it is reasonable and practicable for this to be done.

7. If the land where the licence would be used lies within a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), in addition to obtaining a licence to control birds, the owner or occupier of the land may need to obtain separate consent from NRW under section 28E of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (as substituted) for operations which are anticipated in connection with the exercise of the licence. This applies to operations which are not expressly permitted under the licence and which are notifiable operations in relation to the SSSI, for example the use of vehicles or clearance of vegetation for the purpose of installing traps. In these circumstances, unless the owner or occupier already has the necessary consents, they should give notice to NRW as soon as possible about any such operations, Owner/occupiers are advised not to await the outcome of the licence application before notifying NRW.

8. All questions in this application form must be completed unless otherwise stated: failure to provide adequate information will delay the processing of your application.

Please check our website (opens in new tab) for the latest information on service level performance and current timescales for processing applications. We cannot guarantee an earlier response.

9. It is a condition of any licence issued that a report of the work carried out under the licence is submitted within four weeks after the expiry of the licence. Failure to do so may constitute an offence. Report Form RFB01 can be found on our website (opens in new tab).

10. Applications are dealt with in the order they are received, not according to the requested timing of the operations. Please submit your application in good time before you need to carry out the the proposed operations. If you think your application needs to be dealt with urgently, please ring us to discuss and agree this before its submission.

11. NRW can modify or revoke any licence. This will only be done if there are valid reasons for doing so. Any licence issued will be revoked immediately if it is discovered that false information had been provided which resulted in the issue of the Licence.

12. The information provided by you will be processed by Natural Resources Wales under the General Data Protection Regulation. This will enable us to process your application; to monitor compliance with any permit conditions; to process renewals, and to maintain the relevant public register.

We will use the information you provide in connection with the following:

• Consultation with third parties who are relevant and responsible for responding to consultation requests from NRW to enable us to process your application
• Carrying out statistical analysis, research and development on environmental issues
• Providing public register information for enquiries
• Preventing and investigating possible breaches of environmental law and taking any resulting action;
• Responding to requests for information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and the Environmental Information Regulations 2004.

Note, that the above is not an exhaustive list and NRW may use the data provided in connection with the application in other ways, as considered appropriate.

13. Any information included in this application which the applicant considers to be in confidence for commercial or industrial reasons or to be the applicant’s intellectual property must be clearly marked as such.

14. In this document “Natural Resources Wales” means the Natural Resources Body for Wales established by article 3 of the Natural Resources Body for Wales (Establishment) Order 2012. The Natural Resources Body for Wales (Functions) Order 2013 transferred the relevant functions of the Countryside Council for Wales, and functions of the Environment Agency and the Forestry Commission in Wales to the Natural Resources Body for Wales.