Wild birds: licence to kill, take or disturb (A08)
Apply to control wild birds for air safety, conservation, public health and safety or to prevent disease or agricultural damage.
Applies to England
Documents
Details
You must submit a screening form to start applying for this licence. You can use this licence to control wild birds when you need to:
- preserve air safety
- prevent disease or serious agricultural damage to livestock, animal feed, crops, growing timber, fisheries or inland waters
- preserve public health or safety
- conserve wild birds, other animals or plants
Criteria you must meet to get a licence
Natural England will only issue you with a licence if you can show that:
- actual damage or a problem is occurring, or likely to occur – and the target species is causing it
- you have tried non-lethal solutions or you can show that they would not be effective or practical
- there are no suitable alternative methods of control
- action you take under the licence will contribute to preventing damage or resolving the problem
- action you take under the licence will not negatively affect the conservation status of the wild bird
If your application does not meet all these criteria, Natural England will reject your application.
Using the licence
You can use this licence to control wild birds, their nests and eggs by:
- disturbing them
- killing them
- taking them
- using a prohibited method of control on them
If you use a trap or decoy bird, you must follow the standard licence conditions in WML-GL33.
Before you apply
You may be able to control wild birds without a licence by using alternative non-lethal measures. Read about the non-lethal methods you can use to deter certain wild birds without a licence (GU01).
If non-lethal methods do not resolve the situation, check if your circumstances are covered by one of Defra’s general licences for birds. You do not need to apply for a general licence.
Control birds at an airfield
If you need to control birds at an airfield, check if the air safety class licence CL12 covers your circumstances.
If the air safety class licence CL12 does not cover your circumstances, submit a screening form to start applying for this licence.
Apply for an A08 licence
Complete a screening form to start applying for this licence.
Natural England will reply by email within 10 working days of receiving your completed screening form. Based on your screening answers, the email will tell you whether Natural England is likely to grant you a licence. The email will include a screening reference number and an A08 application form.
This licence is free.
You must not start lethal control before Natural England grants your licence.
Report your actions
You must report any actions you take using this licence. Use the report form template LR08 on this page.
You must report within 2 weeks of your licence expiring, even if you’ve taken no action.
Send your completed form to Natural England using the details on the form.
Renew your licence
You can use the report form to renew your licence.
Updates to this page
Last updated 20 February 2023 + show all updates
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The application process wild bird licence A08 has changed. You must now complete a screening form before you can start an application for a licence to kill, take or disturb wild birds (A08). Natural England will then email you the correct application form.
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We've updated the application form for licence A08.
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Updated the A08 application form and the guidance. We have moved the guidance for A09 licence application screening (for the control of wild birds for conservation or health and safety) to a separate page.
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First published.