#467: The Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981

The Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981

Students should perhaps be familiar with some of the legislation which protects the country's natural history - although not always successfully. 

This can be referred to when they talk about the background to protections for land and animals. 

The Wildlife and Countryside Act of 1981 was a governmental bill passed through the U.K parliament on the 30th of October 1981, its jurisdiction covering England, Scotland and Wales. 

Its main purpose was to comply and uphold with numerous European Union laws and conventions on conservation of wildlife and habitats, these include the Bern Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife, the European Union Directives on the Conservation of Wild Birds and the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals. 

All of these EU bills expected greater conservation of individual species at risk but also direct protection of the habitats to facilitate the conservation process.

The Act is important and no doubt will be tinkered with going forward to meet the needs of governments who decide that they value other things over wildlife and the countryside, such as house building or energy infrastructure.