Wild birds: licence to sell captive bred, live wild birds (GL18)
Get a general licence to sell captive bred live wild birds.
Applies to England
Documents
Details
This general licence lets you sell captive bred live wild birds.
Any bird sold under this licence must have been bred in captivity. Its parents must have been in lawful captivity when the egg was laid. You need documents to prove this.
You do not need to apply for this general licence but you must meet its conditions and follow its instructions.
Birds you cannot sell under this licence
You cannot sell any bird on annex A of Council Regulation (EC) No 338/97 unless you have an article 10 certificate.
You also cannot sell:
- mute swans
- ruddy ducks
- Egyptian geese
Birds that do not need a close ring to be sold under this licence
Most captive birds sold under this licence need to be close rung, but there are some exceptions.
You do not need to ring:
- pintails
- American wigeons
- shovelers
- common teals
- blue-winged teals
- wigeons
- mallards
- garganeys
- black ducks
- gadwalls
- white-fronted geese
- greylag geese
- pink-footed geese
- snow geese
- lesser white-fronted geese
- bean geese
- ring-necked ducks
- pochards
- tufted ducks
- scaups
- brent geese
- goldeneyes
- long-tailed ducks
- Bewick’s swans
- whooper swans
- harlequin ducks
- velvet scoters
- common scoters
- surf scoters
- smews
- hooded mergansers
- goosanders
- red-breasted mergansers
- red-crested pochards
- Steller’s eiders
- eider ducks
- king eiders
- shelducks
Wild birds you do not need a licence to sell
You do not need a licence to sell captive bred birds fitted with a close ring from an authorised supplier if they’re:
- blackbirds
- bramblings
- bullfinches
- buntings, reed
- chaffinches
- dunnocks
- goldfinches
- greenfinches
- jackdaws
- jays
- linnets
- magpies
- barn owls
- redpolls
- siskins
- starlings
- song thrushes
- twites
- yellowhammers
Updates to this page
Last updated 1 January 2024 + show all updates
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There is an update to this licence for 1 January 2024.
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Updated to reflect that the licence is issued under section 16(4)(a) of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (as amended).
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Annual licence update, valid from 1 January 2023.
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Annual licence update, valid from 1 January 2022.
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Annual licence update.
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Added accessible version of licence - HTML.
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Replaced licence with new version issued 1 January 2020
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Replaced licence with new version issued 1 January 2019
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Updated licence valid from 12 March 2018.
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Replaced licence with new version issued 1 January 2018
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Replaced licence with new version issued 1 January 2017
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Replaced licence with new version issued 1 January 2016
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First published.