Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981

4 Exceptions to ss. 1 and 3

(1) Nothing in section 1 or in any order made under section 3 shall make unlawful—

(a) anything done in pursuance of a requirement by the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food or the Secretary of State under section 98 of the [1947 c. 48.] Agriculture Act 1947, or by the Secretary of State under section 39 of the [1948 c. 45.] Agriculture (Scotland) Act 1948 ;

(b) anything done under, or in pursuance of an order made under, section 21 or 22 of the [1981 c. 22.] Animal Health Act 1981 ; or

(c) except in the case of a wild bird included in Schedule 1 or the nest or egg of such a bird, anything done under, or in pursuance of an order made under, any other provision of the said Act of 1981.

(2) Notwithstanding anything in the provisions of section 1 or any order made under section 3, a person shall not be guilty of an offence by reason of—

(a) the taking of any wild bird if he shows that the bird had been disabled otherwise than by his unlawful act and was taken solely for the purpose of tending it and releasing it when no longer disabled ;

(b) the killing of any wild bird if he shows that the bird had been so seriously disabled otherwise than by his unlawful act that there was no reasonable chance of its recovering; or

(c) any act made unlawful by those provisions if he shows that the act was the incidental result of a lawful operation and could not reasonably have been avoided.

(3) Notwithstanding anything in the provisions of section 1 or any order made under section 3, an authorised person shall not be guilty of an offence by reason of the killing or injuring of any wild bird, other than a bird included in Schedule 1, if he shows that his action was necessary for the purpose of—

(a) preserving public health or public or air safety ;

(b) preventing the spread of disease; or

(c) preventing serious damage to livestock, foodstuffs for livestock, crops, vegetables, fruit, growing timber, or fisheries.