Is there a book, or a website...

[bardsandwarriors]

which explains the law on wild food, in plain english? I'm a novice trying to learn this, and there seem to be endless complications, but nowhere to find out what is allowed and what isn't. I want a really nice, simple list, like this! -

Animals you cannot catch - blah blah blah
Birds you cannot catch - flap flap
Protected fish - gurgle gurgle
Traps you must not use - etc
Traps you can use but not on sundays if it's raining - etc
Animals you need a license for -

Illegals ways of catching bunnies -
Illegal ways of catching squirrels -
and so on for every animal and fish

What you must never ever do in an SSSI - this, that, and the other...
A complete list of SSSI's in the UK - etc

Surely, someone, somewhere has written something to make it nice and simple?

 

[Ruckus]

you know, we should compile a list and have it on the site, seeing as there isnt (or atleast to my knowledge) one central database for that i can imagine lots of people would find it useful.

 

[Laurence Dell]

which explains the law on wild food, in plain english? I'm a novice trying to learn this, and there seem to be endless complications, but nowhere to find out what is allowed and what isn't. I want a really nice, simple list, like this! -
Animals you cannot catch - blah blah blah
Birds you cannot catch - flap flap
Protected fish - gurgle gurgle

Check out the Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981

What you must never ever do in an SSSI - this, that, and the other...
A complete list of SSSI's in the UK - etc

All the SSSI are listed on English Nature's website and the damaging operations are included somewhere in the details.
Here is the link for this bit http://www.english-nature.org.uk/special/sssi/

As for traps and snares etc try this to get you started http://www.basc.org.uk/content/basc_response_to_the_defr

 

[bardsandwarriors]

Thanks Lawrence, I appreciate you trying to help. But the BASC letter tells me very little about what I can and can't do, refers to at least 10 organisations which I've never heard of, and directs me to 3 acts of parliament to find the information I want. You mention another one - "Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981". Do I really need to plough through those to find the information? grr!

Maybe I need a copy of "Traps & Snares – a field guide to legal and illegal traps and snares"?

The SSSI site only covers sites in england. The welsh one is here:
http://www.ccw.gov.uk/protected_sites/

But there must be a lot more legal stuff than that, and I'm bound to miss something. Surely there is there a layman's guide somewhere, which covers everything in a simple list.

 

[Ed]

you know, we should compile a list and have it on the site

That may be a good idea, but these things change quite often and its hard to keep up with them and makesure everything is up to date.

It would be great if there was a single site or a book that had all this infomation in, but as far as i know there isn't one that covers everything you are after.

The best place i can think of is this forum..... All of those question above have been answered somewhere on here (I remember answering most of them), its just a case of searching the infomation out.

Have a trall through all the old thread....... I'm sure you'll find your answers


Ed

 

[Ed]

After having a think about this I think it may be a time to sort out a 'Fair Game' FAQ ...... so..... I'll put up a sticky post in the Fair Game forum and gather questions you would like answered in an FAQ ....... especially those questions that get asked time and time again


Ed

 

[Ed]

You can find the new sticky thread here to post questions
http://www.bushcraftuk.com/community/showthread.php?t=8012


Ed

 

[bardsandwarriors]

Cheers Ed. I will keep my eye on it!

It's taken me such a long time, gradually finding this legal information. I don't want to break the law (except, maybe, bend it a little bit here and there, you know?! ), and this has stopped me going out catching things. I want to honestly go out and catch my dinner with a clear conscience. Maybe I already know most of it now, and maybe I'm being too cautious - I've read through this forum, right back to the start - but it still bothers me that I've missed things, because I keep coming across little rules and laws that I hadn't heard about.

So I think a FAQ on the law would be excellent. If you wanted to make some money from it, one of you guys could even write a book on it and publish it as an annual, and keep a website listing the latest changes. Just a thought.