Did you know it is legal to keep certain wild bird as pets in the UK!

• Also falconry is allowed in the UK as well! Including on rare occasions by licence taken wild birds of prey from the wild. It’s not often allowed but in recent years a licence was allowed in England! Again if you read the complete Wildlife and Countryside Act! That is covered as well! As I’ve always always said the 1981 Wildlife and Countryside Act is very complex and unless you’ve read every line by line there are lots you could miss from this act. Also if any Raptor on those very rare occasions with clear evidence from a farmer that this is happening and that there livestock are being threatened in any way, that Farmer can take action including culling that said raptor if there is no other way possible. Again that is an easy part of that 1981 act that anyone could miss inless they have read that 1981 act line by line! I’m posting all of this as I’ve said it’s not straight forward with this 1981 Act!

Hi, well I for one did not know this! I must be naive, but I thought it was illegal to keep any wild animals!? I am aware that some people do, but I don't believe it's right.

One point I would make I’m never go overer the top with sentimentally that everything should be protected. There are circumstances when the situation means there is no alternative. Sometimes the RSPB has has to cull deer at Leighton Moss, as the deer have damaged the reed beds and had to reduce that population.. Also from time to time the RSPB still have to control the black headed at Minsmere as the young Avocets where not surviving. So the RSPB have had to inject he eggs of black headed gulls and make those eggs infertile to keep the black headed gull population down to a reasonable level and thar happens with other smaller wildlife organisations in the UK as well. Also when Farmer with clear evidence that on the very rare occasions that raptors cause problems and there is no other alternative as  raptors cause problems with Farmers livestock then that Farmer has no other alternative, then sadly has to take action and cull that raptor humanely I agree with that 100x. Although Fox Hunting by hounds is now illegal. Foxes can be controlled by Farmers and culled in a humane way if again the Farmers livestock and with clear evidence, any UK Farmer should take action and that is legal and I 100% agree with that. I’ve been reading by some in recent months on this forum with over sentimentally. But I take a pragmatic approach and I always have done. As I think some o recently by some of over sentimentally and that can’t always be the case in wildlife and conservation. I don’t want to say this as it seems to be coming from recent or new members on this forum. And management of reserves and wildlife isn’t straightforward as some would like. I didn’t want to post my thoughts on this! But those tsentimentalof posts have been becoming more frequently of late!

Tigerss said:

Hi, well I for one did not know this! I must be naive, but I thought it was illegal to keep any wild animals!? I am aware that some people do, but I don't believe it's right.

I think to be fair to you and all the others who were/are, not aware, because the law is so complex, add to that while the access is easy to reading the laws, it also isn't easy access. often a websearch will take you to legal firms first rather than the UK law itself when doing a search.

That's because most, if not all, search engines are money orientated, which is the driving force of today, 'money'. I forever struggle to find the right info online, so I do have sympathy and understanding as to why so many people are not aware.

My local library, which was a large and well stocked library until the local college closed, and it was horrendously downsized, closed some twenty years back, and the main library is not easily access any longer, pedestrianised town and city centres full of pavement activities.

OK, that probably sounds double dutch, what I'm saying is, the info is there, but being able to find it using the right words in a search box, isn't. Add to that the complexity of online searches being biased to those which warn money for the search engine host(s) will make what should be an easy search into a difficult one.

Even the legal eagles often have problems using the law to resolve a case or situation.

To throw in another spanner, because a lot of people lead busy and complex lives, sometimes time doesn't facilitate.

I hope that came out right in an understanding way, after all that.

Unknown said:

Also from time to time the RSPB still have to control the black headed at Minsmere as the young Avocets where not surviving.

I can't comment on practices many years back but Ian Barthorpe has stated that they do absolutely no controlling of these birds at Minsmere as their presence is vital in encouraging avocets to breed there.