Statutory guidance

Edible dormice: licence to trap them (CL02)

Updated 21 February 2024

Applies to England

Class licence CL02: to trap edible (fat) dormice to preserve public health and safety and prevent serious damage to crops.

Overview

This licence permits the trapping of edible (or fat) dormice (Glis glis, also known as Myoxus glis) for the purposes of preserving public health and public safety, and to prevent serious damage to crops, fruit, growing timber and other forms of property.

Edible dormice captured alive cannot be released and must be humanely dispatched.

Registration: Anyone wishing to use this licence must first apply to Natural England.

Recording and reporting: There are data recording and annual reporting requirements.

Reference: WML – CL02.

Legislation

Statute(s) Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (as amended) (‘the 1981 Act’).

Section(s) This licence is issued under sections 16(3)(f) & (h) and 16(5).

Licence terms and conditions

Valid for the period 1 January 2024 to 31 December 2024 (inclusive).

Area valid in: All counties of England (landward of the mean low water mark).

Purpose(s) for which this licence is issued: This licence can only be used for:

• preserving public health and public safety, and
• preventing serious damage to crops, vegetables, fruit, growing timber, or any other form of property

What this licence permits

Subject to all the terms and conditions of this licence and solely for the purposes stated above, this licence permits Registered Persons and other persons authorised to act on their behalf to trap edible dormice (Glis glis) using:

i. appropriate live capture traps, and

ii. approved spring traps (see Condition 8)

Who can use this licence

This licence can only be used by Registered Persons* Accredited Agents* and Assistants* except those convicted on or after 1 January 2010 of a wildlife crime* unless, in respect of that offence, either:

• they are a rehabilitated person for the purposes of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and their conviction is treated as spent, or
• a court has made an order discharging them absolutely

Any application by a person to whom this exclusion applies for an individual licence will be considered on its merits.

*: see Definitions

Definitions used in this licence

A “Registered Person” is a person who has successfully registered to use this licence in accordance with Condition 2 and Information and Advice note h.

An “Accredited Agent” is a suitably trained and experienced person who is able to carry out work under a licence without the personal supervision of the Registered Person in accordance with Condition 2.

An “Assistant” is a person assisting a Registered Person or Accredited Agent in accordance with Condition 2.

“To kill” includes accidentally wounding whilst attempting to kill in accordance with this licence.

“Humane” means taking all reasonable precautions to ensure that any killing of edible dormice under this licence is carried out by a single, swift action.

“Wildlife crime” means any offence under the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017 (‘the Habitats Regulations’), the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, the Protection of Badgers Act 1992, the Deer Act 1991, the Hunting Act 2004, the Wild Mammals (Protection) Act 1996, the Animal Welfare Act 2006, the Protection of Animals Act 1911 (all as amended) or the Invasive Alien Species (Enforcement and Permitting) Order 2019.

Licence conditions

1. This licence does not authorise the use of any method of taking which is prohibited by section 11 of the 1981 Act, except as specifically permitted above.

2. To use this licence you must either:
   
   a. be a Registered Person (see Definitions and Information and Advice notes h and i for registration procedures)
   
   b. be authorised as an Accredited Agent (see Definitions) by a Registered Person, in which case you are only permitted to act under the authority of this licence if you are in possession of a letter signed by the Registered Person appointing you by name as a duly Accredited Agent for the purpose of this licence. Agents shall carry a copy of the said letter when acting under the licence and shall produce it to any police or Natural England officer on request, or
   
   c. be authorised by a Registered Person or their Accredited Agent to act as an Assistant (see Definitions), in which case you may act under the authority of this licence so long as you are doing so under the direct supervision of a Registered Person or their Accredited Agent.
   
   
3. The Registered Person is responsible for all activities carried out under this licence, including activities carried out by their Accredited Agents and their Assistants.
   
   
4. The Registered Person, Accredited Agents and their Assistants shall give all reasonable assistance to an officer of Natural England, accompanied by such persons as he/she considers necessary for the purpose, on production of his/her identification on demand, in obtaining access to sites where trapping is, or has, taken place for monitoring purposes and for the purpose of ascertaining whether the conditions of this licence are being, or have been, complied with.
   
   Use of traps
   
   
5. All persons making use of this licence shall possess appropriate knowledge and experience of the trap(s) used or shall operate under the guidance of such a person.
   
   
6. Any animals killed in accordance with this licence must be killed in a quick and humane manner.
   
   
7. All relevant animal welfare legislation must be complied with at all times, including the Animal Welfare Act 2006.
   
   
8. Only spring traps authorised for use against edible dormice under the Spring Traps Approval (England) Order 2018 and the Spring Traps Approval (Variation) (England) Order 2021 may be used to kill edible dormice.
   
   
9. Spring traps must be set in a natural or artificial tunnel. Cage traps must be so sheltered or covered that light is excluded during the daytime.
   
   
10. When in use, every trap used pursuant to this licence must be inspected at least once every day at intervals of no more than 24 hours. Such an inspection must be sufficient to determine whether there are any live or dead animals in the trap.
    
    
11. At each inspection any dead animal caught in the trap should be removed from it.
    
    
12. Where a trap is not in use, it must be rendered incapable of holding or catching edible dormice or other animals. Any bait, food or water must also be removed.
    
    
13. Where any live animal, other than an edible dormouse or another animal of a species listed on Schedule 9 of the 1981 Act, has become confined in a cage trap, if fit to be released, it must be released immediately upon discovery. Edible dormice must be killed in a quick and humane manner as soon as reasonably practicable after discovery. See Information and Advice note l regarding any other animals that are listed on Schedule 9.
    
    
14. If you catch a species listed as an invasive non-native (alien) animal you must not release it. You must quickly and humanely dispatch it, or give it to a premises licensed to keep it. For a list of licensed premises contact Natural England: invasive-alien-species-licence@naturalengland.org.uk.
    
    Recording and reporting requirements
    
    
15. The Registered Person must maintain a record of all edible dormice captured under this licence in accordance with the requirements of Annex A, and this record must be submitted to Natural England Wildlife Licensing (contact details below) for each calendar year to arrive no later than 31 January of the succeeding year.
    
    
16. If Condition 15 is not met then the Registered Person will, by default, no longer be considered registered to act under this licence.
    
    

Important

This licence authorises acts that would otherwise be offences under the legislation referred to above. Failure to comply with its terms and conditions:

i. may be an offence against the 1981 Act or mean that the licence cannot be relied upon and an offence could therefore be committed. The maximum penalty available for an offence under the 1981 Act is, at the time of the issue of this licence, an unlimited fine and/or a six month custodial sentence

ii. may result in your permission to use this licence being withdrawn. Natural England will inform any person or organisation whose permission to use this licence is withdrawn in writing. This sanction may be applied to other similar licences, and

iii. may mean that you are not able to rely on this licence as a defence in respect to the prohibitions within the Animal Welfare Act 2006 or the Wild Mammals (Protection) Act 1996. If the activity that you wish to undertake is not covered by this licence, or if you are unable to comply with any of the terms and conditions which apply to the use of this licence, then you will need to apply to Natural England for an individual licence.

This licence is not a consent for the purposes of Part II of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (as amended) in respect of Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs).

It is your responsibility to get consent or assent if required before this licence can be used on any SSSI. See Information and Advice notes (t - v) for further information.

Issued by and on behalf of Natural England on 1 January 2024.

Information and advice specific to this licence

a. Section 11 of the 1981 Act prohibits the use of traps for those wild mammals listed on Schedule 6 of the 1981 Act. Gliridae (the family name for dormice and therefore including Glis glis) is listed under Schedule 6 and therefore cannot be trapped without a licence. This offence shall not apply to anything done under and in accordance with the terms of this licence.

b. It is also an offence, under section 14 of the 1981 Act, to release or allow to escape into the wild any animal listed on Schedule 9 of the 1981 Act; this includes edible dormice (Glis glis). This licence does not permit edible dormice to be released (see Information and Advice note l).

Coronavirus – Best practice

c. To avoid transmitting COVID-19 from people to wild mammals, you should: stay at least 2 metres from live wild mammals at all times; only capture or handle live wild mammals if necessary; and avoid going within 2 metres of known breeding or regularly used resting sites of mammals. If you cannot follow these guidelines, then you should minimise the time spent in close proximity and handling mammals; limit the number of people that come into close proximity or handle mammals; and keep animals separate from other individuals as far as possible.

i. Persons acting under this licence should follow good hygiene practices, including wearing of disposable gloves, or clean and disinfected non-disposable gloves; wearing a face covering when handling and in close proximity to any mammal; and washing hands before and after close proximity or handling of any mammal. Face coverings, non-disposable gloves and overalls or other clothing should be washed / disinfected between uses when handling mammals.

ii. You should not carry out activities under this licence if you feel unwell, test positive for COVID-19 or live with someone who has or might have COVID-19.

iii. Any products used to clean and disinfect equipment should be safe for use where there could be contact with animals and used at an effective and safe dilution rate. ‘Safe4’ is considered to be an appropriate disinfectant for this purpose and is considered effective against the virus at a dilution of 1:50. Other products can be used to clean and disinfect equipment.

Trapping guidance

d. The cage traps should be baited with fruit and a source of water supplied. Pre-baiting ie, wiring the door of the cage trap in the open position whilst supplying the traps with food helps to increase trapping success. Cage trapped edible dormice can be shot or run into a sack and killed with a sharp blow to the head.

e. Following removal of edible dormice from domestic/industrial properties, access points where the animals are entering the property should be identified and routes to these access points should be assessed (overhanging trees, ivy, etc). Access points should be proofed against future entry.

f. Cage traps should be used in accordance with appropriate good practice, including:

i. Where cage traps used under the terms of a licence consistently capture birds or other animals not included in the licence, the trap should be moved to a different location in order to minimise the risk of non-target species being caught again.

ii. Cage traps should not be used during severe hot or cold weather conditions, or when such conditions are reasonably anticipated.

iii. It is necessary to either secure the door in a fully open or closed position or to remove the door completely in order to render any cage trap incapable of holding or catching birds or other animals.

Relevant legislation and good practice

g. Persons acting under a licence should have regard to legislation and good practice relevant to the action(s) undertaken including:

i. Animal welfare, including the Animal Welfare Act 2006 (2006 Act). It is an offence to cause any unnecessary suffering to an animal (including birds) under the control of man (section 4 of the 2006 Act). This applies to the humane dispatch of captured animals and the treatment of animals held in traps or nets, including decoy birds and non-target animals. The application of Animal Welfare Act 2006 to wildlife management activities is explained in Natural England leaflet Wildlife Management Advice Note: The Animal Welfare Act 2006: what it means for wildlife (WML-GU02).

ii. The disposal of the carcass(es) of any animal killed in accordance with a licence. Registering to use this licence

h. Only Registered Persons, or persons authorised or supervised by a Registered Person (see Condition 2) may act under this licence. Anyone seeking to become a Registered Person must apply to Natural England. You can register online to use this licence. Alternatively applications can be submitted by email or post (contact details below).

i. Once registered, a person is entitled to use this licence so long as they satisfy the licence’s terms and conditions; annual re-registration is not required. Failure to comply by the terms and conditions, including the recording and reporting requirements, will, by default, render registration null and void. The annual reporting process is used to verify a person’s desire to remain registered.

j. It is the responsibility of Registered Persons to maintain their expertise at an appropriate level to act under this licence and it is also their responsibility to ensure that Accredited Agents and Assistants have appropriate training, experience and instruction, including mitigation measures commonly employed, to act under this licence.

k. Anyone seeking to confirm whether a person is registered to use this licence should contact Natural England Wildlife Licensing (contact details below).

l. A person’s registration may be revoked by Natural England, for example, if that person breaches the conditions of this licence. In these circumstances Natural England will normally give 28 days’ notice of our intention to revoke a person’s registration.

Non-native species

m. Under section 14 of the 1981 Act it is an offence to release into the wild any animal included in Schedule 9 of the 1981 Act. Any animals of species listed on Schedule 9 accidentally caught by licensed trapping should be treated as follows:

• Species listed in Part 1 must not be released or allowed to escape into the wild. It is preferable that these animals are killed in a quick and humane manner as soon as reasonably practicable after discovery. These animals may only be released under an individual licence obtained from Natural England.
• Species listed in Part 1A (which are native to Great Britain) must be released immediately upon discovery. This is permitted under general licence WML- GL22.
• Species listed in Part 1B (which are former native species) may be released immediately upon discovery at the point of capture (this is permitted by general licence WML- GL22), killed humanely or kept in captivity. These animals may only be released at another location under an individual licence obtained from Natural England.

Information and advice for all class and general licences

General information

n. Natural England checks compliance with licences and the attached conditions. Where breaches are identified, these may be subject to enforcement action.

o. Ordinarily, licences will be reissued on 1 January each year (NB: you do not need to re-register for those with registration requirements). Please note, however, that they can be modified or revoked at any time by Natural England or the Secretary of State, but this will not be done unless there are good reasons for doing so. You are advised to check the terms and conditions of a licence prior to your first use of it each year in case of amendments.

p. The common name of the species given in a licence is included by way of guidance only; in the event of any dispute or proceedings, it is the scientific name of a species only that will be taken into account.

The limits of licences

q. Licences permit action only for the purposes specified on that licence.

r. Licences do not permit actions prohibited under any other legislation, nor do they confer any right of entry upon land.

s. Unless otherwise stated the provisions of Natural England licences only apply landward of the mean low water mark in England. The Marine Management Organisation is responsible for all licensing seaward of the mean low water mark.

Protected sites

t. You can search for and view details about all SSSIs by using Natural England’s Designated Sites system. The notification documents for each SSSI contain a list of operations that require Natural England’s prior consent. Owners and occupiers of land notified as SSSIs are required to give written notice to Natural England before either beginning any of these operations, or allowing someone else to carry out those operations. SSSI consent can only be given to a SSSI owner or occupier. It may be given with or without conditions, or in some cases, consent may not be granted. A similar process applies to public bodies and statutory undertakers (as defined under Section 28G of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (as amended)) and this obligation applies even where the operations are carried out on land outside of the SSSI.

u. Please note that as the licensee you will not be able to undertake the licensed activity on a SSSI until the owner or occupier of the SSSI has applied for, and received, Natural England’s written SSSI consent. If you do so, you may be at risk of committing an offence.

As the licensee, if you wish to exercise this licence on a SSSI you must contact the relevant owners or occupiers of the SSSI and ensure they give written notice to Natural England of their proposal to permit you to carry out licensed activity on their SSSI.

You should wait until a SSSI consent decision has been received by the SSSI owner/occupier before you begin to exercise this licence on a SSSI. See GOV.UK for further information on how to get SSSI consent from Natural England.

v. In considering whether to issue consent or assent for activities likely to affect a SSSI that is a European Site, in other words a Special Protection Area (SPA) or Special Area of Conservation (SAC), Natural England will carry out a Habitats Regulations Assessment, as required by the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017 (as amended) (‘the Habitats Regulations’) to ensure there will be no adverse effects on the European site.

Using and sharing your Information

w. There is significant public interest in wildlife licensing and in those who benefit from receiving a wildlife licence. We may make information publicly available, for more information, please see our privacy notice.

Contact Natural England for licensing enquiries

Telephone: 020 802 61089

Email: wildlife@naturalengland.org.uk

Wildlife Licensing, Operations Delivery
Natural England
Horizon House
Deanery Road
Bristol
BS1 5AH

For other enquiries use the Enquiry Service

Telephone: 0300 060 3900

Email: enquiries@naturalengland.org.uk

Website: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/natural-england

Annex A: Record of activities

number of Glis glis trapped (and method)	month and year	location (postcode or grid reference and town)
Example: 5 x Glis glis: (2 x cage trap, 3 x Solway spring trap Mk 4)	June 2020	HPn Nxx , TLxx yy, Hemel Hempstead

The location of the trapping carried out must include the postcode or map grid reference (4-figure minimum). This information will be used to monitor the geographical spread of this non-native species.

WML-CL02 [version January 2024].