You will have noticed the recent inclusion in these notes of enquiries we have received about the control of rooks in our Parish. We have received some useful and important guidance from Natural England – an Agency of the Department of the Environment. You can imagine that the advice and guidance is both long and illuminating, especially about the various protected species that might be involved. Rooks do not seem to benefit from extensive protection, but they are still subject to ‘guidance’. The guidance notes run to 18 pages each, so we are directing you to the two following sites. If you are troubled by rooks, for whatever reason, please consult these pages, and then get in touch with the PC, as the next steps involve the gaining/granting of licences. This note is also on the PC website to make copying the links easier.
- https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/wild-birds-licence-to-kill-or-take-to-prevent-serious-damage-gl42/gl42-general-licence-to-kill-or-take-certain-species-of-wild-birds-to-prevent-serious-damage
- https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/wild-birds-licence-to-kill-take-or-disturb-for-conservation-or-public-health-and-safety-a09
Remember, we live in the country here, rooks are a natural part of our environment, and have as much right to enjoy it as we do, so long as they behave themselves!
