The following article from the Torygraph, sorry Telegraph, caught my eye concerning the plight of a 60 year old Welshman who has through his own choice decided to adopt the lifestyle of the Apache Indian…
Apache Indian Welshman faces Court Action over Wild Animal Haul
…much to the derision of commentators on The Witches Voice, some presumably who may be direct descendants of Native Americans, debating on whether it is correct that a native of Swansea should be allowed to promote connection to a blood lineage [personal interpretation of comments].
But this is not what interested me. I’m also going to skip the emotive issue of whether it is right to make use of or disturb a dead animal lying in state for that is a personal choice and I can respect other’s views on this. Back to topic…
In the article said Welshman is being held to account for his possession of a native British protected under Law species, the European Badger (meles meles) for which he has been arrested and presumably will face some kind of charge for possession or what he regards as essentially to be “legally obtained” spiritual artefacts.
Whilst playing Herne’s Advocate and again unknowingly making the assumption that these were legally obtained artefacts, previous understanding to current legislation relates to previous investigations in response to queries levelled from which I had drawn (whilst paraphrasing myself on social media as stating) the following conclusion …
“Basically the rules of legal caution are… if you find a dead badger at the side of the road, that has been hit by a car, make a note of the details and circumstances, photograph its current location in context (showing the road and including landmarks in shot) so that proof can be provided if inquired of its origin and pass the details to a local badger group for their records. You can then safely remove the corpse and have a proven record that the animal has not been obtained illegally. If you find a badger in woodland or the countryside unfortunately it is probably best to leave alone as things are more difficult to prove and you could end up being accused of baiting or digging.“
However, I admit that this is a little vague with regard to actual legal reference and quoted substantiation so this Blog post will hopefully address in follow-up that omission.
Don’t get me wrong, I think the legal protection of our badgers is well deserved and should remain in place to prevent illegal activities, but it crossed my mind “what if you found one (badger) at the side of the road?“, “can I legally take it?“. Being aware of the tangle of legislation surrounding this topic a little research was in order.
Because of the unwritten rules of implication and association for merely stating an opinion or collating data on the internet, I’m going to start the following investigation with a disclaimer:
GENERAL DISCLAIMER
As a non-legal specialist, I do not condone any action that may be in breach of current legislation with regard to possession of British protected species. It is believed that at the time of publishing the information collated from various websites below was correct. However, reader interpretation of said information and therefore potential for violation of any law is at own risk and this Blog post is by no means a definitive to the decision making process and judgement that may be passed if any case comes to Court.
There, that done, lets see what we can find with a little Googling… (I have used extract from the information available therefore would recommend the reader visit the actual site to see the snippet in context).
It has taken me a while to track down this information, but on researching ‘The Protection of Badgers Act (1992)’ and ‘The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981’, the following can be found as public record …
RSPCA ADVICE
“Protection of Badgers Act 1992 The Protection of Badgers Act 1992 consolidates the Badgers Act 1973, the Badgers Act 1991 and The Badgers (Further Protection) Act 1991. Under the legislation it is an offence to:
> kill or injure a badger, except under licence
> sell, offer for sale or possess any dead badger or parts of a badger, unless it has not been killed in a way that is contrary to the law
> cruelly ill-treat any badger
> use certain prohibited firearms
> dig for a badger
> damage/destroy a badger sett or access to it or disturb a badger in it
> use a dog to enter a badger sett
> tag or mark any badger except under licence. “
Source:
PROTECTION OF BADGER ACT (1992)
Information on the UK Government website in relation to the ‘Protection of Badgers Act 1992’ (please be aware of the revisions section to the original Act):
“Offences
1.(3) A person is guilty of an offence if, except as permitted by or under this Act, he has in his possession or under his control any dead badger or any part of, or anything derived from, a dead badger.
1. (4) A person is not guilty of an offence under subsection (3) above if he shows that—
(a) the badger had not been killed, or had been killed otherwise than in contravention of the provisions of this Act or of the [1973 c. 57.] Badgers Act 1973; or
(b) the badger or other thing in his possession or control had been sold (whether to him or any other person) and, at the time of the purchase, the purchaser had had no reason to believe that the badger had been killed in contravention of any of those provisions.”
Source:
UK GUILD OF TAXIDERMISTS
The UK Guild of Taxidermists states:
“The laws concerning the purchase or possession of natural history specimens can be a little confusing.
Should you come across a dead wild creature and wish to have it preserved, you must consider how the subject met its death. Once you are satisfied that the cause of death was legal, make a note of all circumstances surrounding the death then contact your taxidermist. If you are unable to ascertain the cause, the information you have can help your taxidermist decide if your specimen can be mounted. The taxidermist must have this information to hand if it is requested by an authorised person….”
“…Certain British species are protected because of their rarity and these must have a permit to be sold. Endangered species are covered by the Convention of International Trade in Endangered Species of Flora and Fauna (CITES) and also need permits.
The status of any specimen or legislation can change in the future. It is wise to keep a record of any in your possession.”
Source:
A further taxidermy site offers this advice:
“In the UK any Taxidermist wishing to sell a protected item must be registered with the Department of Environment Transport and the Regions (DETR) and obtain a licence to sell any item falling into the current perimeters of the law for that specimen.”
Source:
TAYSIDE (Scotland) WILDLIFE CRIMES UNIT
But what if it is not your intention for sale, let’s say as in the Welsh case the item of contention was for personal “spiritual” use only? Information from Tayside’s Wildlife Crime site answers the question of “Is it an offence to keep a dead bird of animal killed on the road and have it stuffed?” by stating the following…
“In general it is an offence to possess a dead bird or a dead protected animal (for example a badger or pine marten as opposed to a rabbit or hare, which can legitimately be controlled in any case). However there is an exception if the person in possession of the protected animal or bird can show that it died or was killed other than as a result of a crime committed against it. Road traffic victims would fall in to this category and could legally be kept and used in taxidermy. To be on the safe side it may be worth having the animal or bird examined by a vet (though they may not always be able to tell how it died without opening it up) or reporting the find to a police wildlife crime officer. After 15 February 2007 dead otters and wildcats may not be taken for taxidermy. Any already in someone’s possession and taken after 10 June 1994 must be registered with the Scottish Government.”
Source:
SUMMARY
My research into this interesting but complicated area of wildlife legislation is far from comprehensive, but briefly from what I have found would seem to suggest the following advice:
RSPCA
“unless it has not been killed in a way that is contrary to the law”
UK 1992 ACT
“has not been killed… in contravention of the provisions of this Act…” and “…purchaser had had no reason to believe that the badger had been killed in contravention of any of those provisions.”
UK GUILD OF TAXIDERMISTS
“…It is wise to keep a record of any in your possession.”
TAYSIDE WCU
“…there is an exception if the person in possession of the protected animal or bird can show that it died or was killed other than as a result of a crime committed against it. Road traffic victims would fall in to this category.”
Interesting stuff and in by no means clear cut in answering the original query of whether one can remove Badger from the highway, thus the only recommendation I could possibly make if caught up in similar entanglement of legality would be, to get good legal representation(!)
Eclectic Badger's Settcetera 