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Legal status
In April 2008 water voles were afforded
full protection in England and Wales by
DEFRA by including them on schedule 5
of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981
(WCA). Protection for water voles was to
be achieved through the prohibition of
certain activities under section 9 of the
WCA as listed below.
•
9(1) - prohibition of killing, injuring or
taking;
•
9(2) - prohibition of possession or
control;
•
9(4) - prohibition of damaging or
destroying places of shelter, or
disturbing such animals while occupying
places of shelter;
•
9(5) - prohibition of sale, possession or
transport for the purpose of sale, and
advertising the buying or selling of such
animals.
Water voles and their resting places are now
fully protected in England and it is an offence
to deliberately, capture, injure or kill them,
have possession or control, or to disturb,
damage, destroy or obstruct their breeding or
resting places and to buy or sell the species
Where water voles can not be worked around
and if the issue cannot be resolved by any
alternative means there are exceptions to
these prohibitions which may be authorised
by a licence issued under section 16 of the
WCA by Natural England.
Click below for more information
Specialists in water vole ecology
