General licences for wildlife management
Use a general licence for activities that carry a low risk to the conservation or welfare of a protected species.
If you plan to act under the authority of a general licence, you must:
- be eligible to do so (see conditions of each licence)
- comply with the terms of the relevant licence and therefore the law
You should use a class licence for activities that need a specific skill or experience to avoid risk to the conservation or welfare of a protected species.
If a general licence or class licence does not cover your circumstance, you should apply for an individual licence. For more information on the licences available, see Wildlife licences: when you need to apply.
Birds
Mammals
Other
Updates to this page
Published 1 January 2015Last updated 21 October 2024 + show all updates
-
Added GL44: Beavers: Licence to possess and move dead beavers for post-mortem testing.
-
Added GL45: licence to release common pheasants or red-legged partridges on specified special protection areas or within 500m of their boundary.
-
Added GL43: licence to release common pheasants or red-legged partridges on certain European sites or within 500m of their boundary.
-
Added GL43: licence to release common pheasants or red-legged partridges on European sites and within 500m of their boundary.
-
Removed general licences that expired on 31 December 2020: GL34, GL35, GL36. Replaced with GL40, GL41, GL42 for the control of wild birds.
-
We've added 2 new licences for trapping stoats: GL38 and GL39.
-
Defra issues updated versions of GLs 26, 28, 31, 34, 35, 36, valid from 1 March 2020.
-
New Defra general licences for wild birds, GL34, GL35 and GL36 added.
-
Updated to include general licence (GL26) for carrion crows.
-
Added 'Wild birds: licence to control certain species'. Removed licences GL04, GL05 and GL06.
-
Notice that GL04, GL05 and GL06 will be revoked on 25 April.
-
Page updated for new licences issued 1 January 2016.
-
First published.