Statutory guidance

Mallard ducks: licence to take eggs and rear and release chicks (GL13)

Get a general licence to take mallard duck eggs for incubation and rearing in captivity as long as you release them later in the year.

Applies to England

Documents

Details

This general licence lets you take mallard duck (Anas platyrhynchos) eggs for incubation, rearing in captivity and releasing later in the same year.

This licence only applies if you are:

  • the land owner, occupier or anyone authorised by the owner or occupier
  • authorised in writing by the local authority
  • authorised in writing by any England, Scotland or Wales conservation body, a district board for fisheries or local fisheries committee
  • authorised in writing by the Environment Agency, a water undertaker or a sewerage undertaker

You do not need to apply for this general licence but you must meet its conditions and follow its instructions. To meet the conditions you must:

  • only take eggs by hand
  • not take eggs after 31 March
  • release any bird hatched from the egg into the wild no later than 31 July, unless it is disabled or has died
  • destroy any unhatched eggs by 31 July
  • not sell the eggs or any birds hatched from them

Updates to this page

Published 31 December 2013
Last updated 1 January 2024 + show all updates
  1. There is an update to this licence for 1 January 2024.

  2. Annual licence update, valid from 1 January 2023.

  3. Annual licence update, valid from 1 January 2022.

  4. Annual licence update.

  5. Added accessible version licence GL13 - HTML.

  6. Replaced licence with new version issued 1 January 2020

  7. Replaced licence with new version issued 1 January 2019

  8. Replaced licence with new version issued 1 January 2018

  9. Replaced licence with new version issued 1 January 2017

  10. Replaced licence with new version issued 1 January 2016

  11. new version GL13 valid 1 January to 31 December 2015

  12. First published.

Sign up for emails or print this page