Bird control and the law: general licence versus specific licence

Bird control law in the UK starts from a simple position: every wild bird and its active nest is protected. Some control of certain species is allowed under general licences, GL40 for conservation, GL41 for public health and safety, and GL42 to prevent serious damage. Where those do not apply, including for gulls, you need a specific licence from Natural England, supported by evidence.

For a commercial site with a bird problem, the licence is the difference between a lawful intervention and an offence. The same physical act, removing a nest or controlling a bird, can be perfectly legal under one route and a criminal matter under another. This article explains the legal foundation, the general licences and what they cover, when you need a specific licence, and why gulls in particular now sit outside the general system.

What does the law actually say?

The starting point is the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. Under it, it is an offence to kill, injure or take a wild bird, or to take, damage or destroy its nest while it is in use or being built, or to take or destroy its eggs. The default, for every wild bird species, is protection. Nothing about a bird being a nuisance changes that starting position.

What allows control to happen at all is the licensing system layered on top. There are two routes: general licences, which you can rely on without applying as long as you meet the conditions, and specific or individual licences, which you apply for and which come with evidence requirements. Understanding which route applies to your situation is the whole game.

What are the general licences, GL40, GL41 and GL42?

In England, Natural England issues three general licences that permit the control of certain named bird species by certain methods, without an individual application, provided you act within the licence terms. The current framework is:

• GL40: to kill or take certain wild birds for the conservation of wild birds.
• GL41: to kill or take certain wild birds to preserve public health and public safety.
• GL42: to kill or take certain wild birds to prevent serious damage, for example to livestock, crops or property. You can read the current terms on the GOV.UK GL42 page.

The key point is that a general licence only covers the species named on it, by the methods it allows, for the purposes it specifies. Species such as feral pigeon are commonly covered for the relevant purposes. But the list is reviewed regularly, species move on and off it, and relying on an out-of-date understanding is a real risk. A general licence is a licence: you still have to meet its conditions, record what you do, and be able to justify it.

When do you need a specific licence?

Where a general licence does not cover the species, the method or the situation, control moves to a specific licence, applied for through Natural England (or NatureScot in Scotland and Natural Resources Wales). This route is evidence-led. An application typically has to demonstrate the problem with photographs and records, show that non-lethal methods have been tried or properly considered, include a scaled risk assessment, and make the case that the proposed action is necessary and proportionate.

It is not a quick process, and it is not a formality. The application has to stand up. For seasonal work it usually needs to be submitted well ahead of the breeding season, in February and March, so it is in place before birds are active. Leaving it until there is a nest with eggs on the roof is leaving it too late, because by then the nest is protected and the situation, not the paperwork, is in charge.

Why are gulls a special case?

Gulls are the clearest example of why the general system cannot be relied on blind. Herring gull and lesser black-backed gull have suffered serious population declines, herring gull by around 60 per cent in recent decades and lesser black-backed gull by an estimated 48 per cent. Because of that conservation status, these species are not included on the general licences. Any control of them has to go through an individual, specific licence from Natural England.

For a commercial site with a gull problem, that has a very practical consequence. You cannot simply act under a general licence, and you cannot wait until the birds have nested. The route is a specific licence, applied for early, backed by evidence, with non-lethal proofing and deterrence as the foundation. We set out the seasonal side of this in detail in our article on gull nesting season, the law, the cost and the annual programme.

The work that needs no licence at all

It is worth being clear that the great majority of commercial bird control needs no licence, because it does not kill, injure or disturb a protected bird or an active nest. Proofing and deterrence simply make your building an unattractive place to land and nest in the first place, which is both the most humane approach and the most durable one.

• Physical proofing: stainless or polycarbonate spikes, post-and-wire systems, and fire-rated netting across voids and atriums.
• Deterrents: bio-acoustic systems, kites and reflective scarers deployed on a randomised schedule so birds do not habituate.
• Environmental management: removing food sources and access that draw birds to the site.

Get these in before the season and most sites never reach the point of needing a licence at all. That is the heart of our nationwide bird control and proofing service, and it is the cheapest, lowest-risk route by a wide margin. Where lethal control genuinely is required, we make sure the right licence is in place first. The same evidence-led discipline applies to invasive mammals, which we cover in our article on grey squirrels and the IAS Order 2019.

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