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Natural England’s role in licensing to control badgers to prevent the spread of bovine Tuberculosis

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: Farming, Licensing, Natural England, Science and evidence, Wildlife, wildlife and farming

Current government policy is to enable culling or vaccination of badgers to control bovine Tuberculosis (bTB). The Minister of State for Food Security and Rural Affairs has today (30 August) announced a refresh of the strategy for control of bovine …

Clarifying the Facts: Tagging of hedgehogs and licensing requirements

Image shows a hedgehog amongst some dry leaves and green ivy

There has been some misinformation on social media recently regarding the tagging of hedgehogs to enable identification of individuals. This blog post from Natural England aims to set the record straight and provide clarity on this important issue. Background Marking …

BNG lessons learned with Local Planning Authorities

Image shows a few newly built houses at a development site in Thakeham. A pond is at the forefront of the image with green grassy land around it and lots of vegetation, allowing for nature to thrive. A beautiful clear blue sky hangs overhead.

By Ruth Andreyeva, Director of Land, Water and Seas strategy Biodiversity net gain (BNG) became mandatory in England earlier in 2024, after many years of collaboration across industry and the public sector. We celebrate this milestone wholeheartedly, but we’re not …

Beavers are now legally protected in England – the licensing regime explained

Beaver wetlands slow, store and filter water helping to reduce downstream flooding, improve water quality, increase biodiversity, and resilience to drought and adaptation to climate change. Photo credit: Giles Wagstaff, Natural England

By Stephanie Bird-Halton - Director of National Delivery Protection of beavers and why it’s important On 1 October 2022 the legislation changed to protect wild-living beavers in England. Beavers are now listed in Schedule 2 of the Conservation of Habitats …

Conservation comes full circle - Natural England licenses translocation of red kites to aid conservation efforts in Spain.

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: Biodiversity, Licensing, Protected sites and species, Wildlife
Red kites in aviaries in Spain ahead of release

By John Holmes, Operations Director The most successful species reintroduction to England ever - the red kite - has come full circle this year, with Natural England licensing the translocation of red kites back to Spain to help bolster low …

Licensing ‘diversionary feeding’ of Hen Harriers on and around grouse moors

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: Hen Harriers, Natural England, Protected sites and species
Hen harrier

This is one of a series of blogs intended to share updates on our Hen Harrier recovery work. The last blog was on Hen harrier monitoring, and the actions taken when a tagged bird is lost, while this one covers …

Urban gull licensing: a review of our organisational licence trial and plans for 2022

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: Licensing, Wildlife
A gull is stood on a rock with the ocean in the background.

The UK is home to a significant proportion of the world’s herring and lesser black-backed gull populations. Like all birds, they are protected by law and can only be controlled in England with a licence issued by Natural England. While …