Nottinghamshire Bat Rescue

Bats and the Law

In a nutshell                                                                             http://www.bedsbatgroup.org.uk

Under the terms of The Wildlife and Countryside Act (1981) amended by the Environmental Protection Act 1990) it is illegal to;

• intentionally kill injure or take a bat
• intentionally or recklessly disturb a bat
• intentionally or recklessly destroy a bat roost
• intentionally or recklessly obstruct the entrance to a bat roost

The Conservation (Natural Habitats,&c.) Regulations 1994 make it an arrestable offence to;

• deliberately capture or kill any bat
• deliberately to disturb any bat
• damage or destroy a breeding place or resting place of any bat

This regulation makes it an arrestable offence to do any of the above without the need to prove intent. It is NOT illegal to handle a disabled bat for the sole purpose of tending it or releasing it.

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