Natural England - Advisory leaflets and guidance notes
Advisory leaflets and guidance notes
A wide range of leaflets with advice on wildlife, problems that may occur, how these can be resolved and guidance notes to help with the licensing process are available.
They can be downloaded below or obtained from our offices, see Contact us.
- Mammals - Badgers, Bats, Deer, Dormice, Foxes, Hares, Mice, Mink, Moles, Otters, Rabbits, Rats, Squirrels, Water Voles, Wild Boar
- Birds - Geese, Bullfinches, Cormorants, Goosanders & Mergansers, Gamebirds Herons, House Sparrows, Pigeons, Mute Swans, Barn Owls
- Amphibians & Reptiles - Great Crested Newts, Natterjack Toads, Smooth Snakes, Sand Lizards, Pool frog
- Other Animals
- Protected Plants
- Injurious Weeds
- General
- Disease and Biosecurity
Mammals
| Species | Title | Ref No | |
|---|---|---|---|
| General | The prevention of mammal damage to trees in woodland | FCPN003 (Forestry Commission) | |
| Badgers | Advice to householders | TIN004 | |
| Problems with badgers in rural areas | TIN005 | ||
| Badger problems: use of electric fencing to prevent agricultural damage | TIN027 | ||
| Badger gates in rabbit-proof fencing | TIN026 | ||
| Using one-way gates on badger sett entrances (use requires a licence) | TIN025 | ||
| Forest operations and badger setts | FCPG009 (Forestry Commission) | ||
| Badgers and development | IN75 | ||
| Guidance on what constitutes “disturbance” to badgers in their setts | WML-G16: (25kb) | ||
| Guidance on “current use” of a badger sett | WML-G17: (29kb) | ||
| TB in cattle: reducing the risk (includes guidance on badgers) | PB4516 | ||
| Bats | Bats in churches | TIN043 | |
| Bat Mitigation Guidelines | IN136 | ||
| Bat Workers Manual | batwork_manual (JNCC) | ||
| Focus on bats: discovering their lifestyle and habitats | NE23 | ||
| Bats and human health | BatHealth: (107kb) | ||
| Bats: European protected species | SIN010 | ||
| Bats: Remedial timber treatment products suitable for use in bat roosts | TIN092 | ||
| Bats in houses: guidance for householders in England | NEGB1: (36kb) | ||
| Bats in Traditional Buildings | Bats-accessible (National Trust) | ||
| Bats and onshore wind turbines | TIN051 | ||
| Deer | Deer: problems in urban and suburban areas | TIN044 | |
| Recommendations for fallow, roe,and muntjac fencing: new proposals for temporary and reusable fencing | FCPN009 [6.5 MB] (Forestry Commission) | ||
| Managing deer in the countryside | FCPN006 [8 MB] (Forestry Commission) | ||
| Impact of deer on woodland biodiversity | FCIN036 (Forestry Commission) | ||
| Deer Management Groups advice and support in England | Advice Note 1 (The Deer Initiative) | ||
| Dormice | Farm rodent control - how to protect dormice
See also ‘mice’ and ‘rats’ below | TIN002 | |
| Dormouse Conservation Handbook | IN29 | ||
| Dormouse: European protected species | SIN005 | ||
| Foxes | The red fox in rural areas | SIN004 | |
| Urban foxes | SIN003 | ||
| Hares | The brown hare | SIN001 | |
| Mice | House mice: options for management and control (also see "Rats" below) | TIN034 | |
| Mink (North American) | Guidance on controlling mink | TAN02 | |
| The GCT mink raft | minkraftleaflet (The Game Conservancy Trust) | ||
| Moles | Moles: options for management and control | TIN033 | |
| Otters | Otter: European protected species | SIN006 | |
| Otters and stillwater fisheries guidance - Environment Agency / Wildlife Trusts leaflet | Guidance: (1.96mb) | ||
| Otter surveys – when do I need a licence? | Guidance: (77kb) | ||
| Otters the facts - Environment Agency leaflet | EAotters | ||
| Rabbits | Rabbits: management options for preventing damage | TIN003 | |
| Pests Act 1954 - Control of rabbits: information for occupiers of land | WML-G22 | ||
| Rabbits: use of fencing to prevent damage | TIN023 | ||
| Rabbits: use of cage-trapping to prevent agicultural damage | TIN024 | ||
| The prevention of rabbit damage to trees in woodland | FCPN002 | ||
| Myxomatosis guidance | MYX001: (72kb) | ||
| Rats | Rats: options for controlling infestations | TIN057 | |
| Rats: control on livestock units | TIN058 | ||
| The control of rats with rodenticides - a complete guide to best practice | Rat control guidelines: (900kb) (Fera) | ||
| Urban rodent control and the safe use of rodenticides by professional users | MISC515 (HSE) | ||
| Rat poison and the threat to wildlife | Rat poison risk: (850kb) | ||
| Squirrels | Urban grey squirrels | TIN056 | |
| Controlling grey squirrel damage to woodlands | FCPN004 (Forestry Commission) | ||
| Review of methods of humane destruction of grey squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis) | SNH317 (Scottish Natural Heritage) | ||
| Practical techniques for surveying and monitoring squirrels | FCPN011 [3.8 MB] (Forestry Commission) | ||
| Water Voles | Water voles – the law in practice
Guidance for planners and developers | NE86 | |
| Do I need a licence to survey for water voles? | watervole surveying: (33kb) | ||
| Water voles and development: licensing policy | TIN042 | ||
| Water vole conservation handbook
(hard copy only from Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, University of Oxford, tel: 01865 271289) | - | ||
| Wild Boar | Feral wild boar
| SIN002 |
Birds
| Species | Title | Ref No |
|---|---|---|
| General | Birds and their control in non-agricultural environments | TAN13 |
| Birds: problems in livestock units | TIN031 | |
| Use of paraffin BP to prevent eggs of certain birds from hatching (this action requires a licence) | TIN022 | |
| A guide to those taking part in mist netting birds in buildings | TIN006 | |
| A guide to cage trapping birds in premises to preserve public health or public safety | TIN071 | |
| Possession, sale and competitive showing of birds | Bird01: (177kb) | |
| Barn Owls | Barn owls & rural planning applications | Barn RPA: (3.38mb) |
| Brent Geese | The management of damage by brent geese | WCA26: (39kb) |
| Code of practice on the licensed shooting of brent geese | WCA25: (41kb) | |
| Canada Geese | The management of problems caused by Canada geese: a guide to best practice
- new guidance published October 2007 | TIN009 |
| Control of Canada geese: round-up and cull during the moult (flightless period) | TIN046 | |
| Canada Geese: A guide to legal control measures | Canada geese: (36kb) (BASC) | |
| Bullfinches | Bullfinches: preventing damage to fruit | TIN032 |
| Fish-eating (piscivorous) birds | Fisheries and the presence of cormorants - more information | TIN041 |
| Fisheries and the presence of goosander & grey herons | TIN040 | |
| Reducing the impact of comorants: the use of fish refuges | TIN028 | |
| Protecting your fishery from cormorants | MC1 | |
| Cormorants: The facts | MC2 | |
| Goosanders & Mergansers: The Facts | MC3 | |
| Reducing the impact of fish-eating birds: The use of nets and wires | TIN029 | |
| Cormorants in the western Palearctic: Distribution and numbers on a wider European scale | WI-CGR: (438kb) | |
| Game birds | Catching & releasing wild gamebirds: a legal summary | TIN 104 |
| House Sparrows | House sparrows in Great Britain | PB9198: (783kb) |
| Feral Pigeons | A guide to those taking part in Alphachloralose stupefying treatments against feral pigeons | TIN007 |
| Mute Swan | Using high visibility barrier tape to deter mute swans from agricultural crops | TIN070 |
Amphibians and Reptiles
| Title | Ref No |
|---|---|
| Herpetofauna Workers Manual
(hard copy only from JNCC's mailing house NHBS, tel: 01803 865913) | - |
| Great Crested Newts Mitigation Guidlines | Newt1 |
| Great Crested Newts: Conservation licences for pond management work | Newt2 |
| Great Crested Newts: Educational pond dipping and invertebrate survey guidance | Newt3: (27kb) |
| Great Crested Newt Conservation Handbook | GCNCH (Froglife) |
| Natterjack Toad: European protected species | SIN009 |
| Sand lizard: European protected species | SIN008 |
| Smooth snake: European protected species | SIN007 |
| Pool frog: European protected species | WML-G10: (206kb) |
Other Animals
| Title | Ref No |
|---|---|
| Fisher's estuarine moth: European protected species | WML-G08: (40kb) |
| Lesser whirlpool ramshorn snail: European protected species | WML-G09: (40kb) |
| White clawed crayfish: guidance on works | Cray1: (208kb) |
Protected Plants
| Title | Ref No |
|---|---|
| Guidance on sampling rare aquatic plants | Aquatic plant 1: (30kb) |
Injurious Weeds
| Title | Ref No |
|---|---|
| Identification of injurious weeds | identify |
| Code of practice on how to prevent the spread of Ragwort | cop_ragwort |
| Guidance on the disposal options for Common Ragwort | ragwort-dispose |
| Preventing the spread of harmful weeds | injurious-weeds |
For information on Japanese knotweed please see Defra's Non-native species: Japanese Knotweed
General
| Title | Ref No |
|---|---|
| The Animal Welfare Act 2006: what it means for wildlife | TIN72 |
| Electric fence reference manual | Electric fencing manual: (274kb) |
| Nature Photographers Code of Practice
Available from The Royal Photographic Society Nature Group website | - |
Disease and Biosecurity
| Title | Ref No |
|---|---|
| Biosecurity guidance to prevent the spread of animal diseases | biosecurity_guidance |
| Better Biosecurity Provides | biosecleaf |
| Avian influenza - Health advice for individuals catching and handling wild birds | Avianfluadvice: (19kb) |
| TB in cattle: reducing the risk (includes guidance on badgers | PB 4516 |
| TB in cattle: Do you know what's happening in your feed store? (includes guidance on badgers) | PB 12474C |
| Biosecurity and preventing disease - guidance for poultry keepers | PB 11380 |
