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Freshwater Pearl Mussel

Freshwater pearl mussel are fully protected in the UK, in particular under the under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 as amended by the Nature Conservation Scotland Act (2004) in Scotland and the Countryside and Rights of Way Act (CROW) 2000 in England.  We can undertake licensed survey for this species.  This species is largely now restricted, within Great Britain, to high quality rivers north of the central belt of Scotland and some sites in Northern Ireland. 

Wildcat

A wildcat survey may be required if a project is proposed where suitable habitat such as woodland, moorland or rough grassland is present in their natural range i.e. predominantly north of the Central Belt of Scotland. 

 

Wildcat and their resting up sites are protected under UK Legislation, in particular under the  Conservation (Natural Habitats, & C.) Regulations 1994, and in Scotland under the Conservation (Natural Habitats, & C.) Amendment (Scotland) Regulations 2007.   For example it is an offence to deliberately or recklessly disturb a wildcat in a resting up site or to damage or destroy a breeding or resting site for this species. 

 

If a breeding or resting site is affected by development, then a European Protected Species licence will be required before works can start. In Scotland, the Scottish Government advise that a licence application can take 6-8 weeks to assess.  It is recommended that survey and mitigation design should start as early as possible in the life of the project.  Our staff can assist with such issues for a wide variety of projects. The licence application requires a species survey and is likely to include mitigation proposals which may include pre-construction survey, supervision of nearby works and erection of exclusion fencing.