Natural England (NE) is continuing to receive large numbers of applications for individual licences for gulls and other bird species.

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.

NE has received 893 applications to date, with 287 of these applications having been received within the last two weeks, and continue to aim to issue all licensing decisions as early as possible in April.

So far 491 applications have been taken through an initial check process, and NE are currently either awaiting further information, or reviewing responses from applications where essential information was missing.

It is vital that you make sure you have included all relevant information in your individual licence application, in order to receive a timely response from NE.

If you have been contacted by NE for more information, respond as soon as possible in order to receive your licence in time for gull breeding season. 

Stoat Licences

Natural England has now published the General Licences for Stoats, which are as follows:

• GL38: To trap stoats to conserve wild birds
• GL39: To trap stoats to prevent serious damage to livestock.

You can find out a bit more about the licences here.

Source: Online