What the four nations actually allow

Animal welfare is devolved, and since 2023 the four nations have genuinely diverged. This is the same practice compared across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, with the primary source and a last-checked date against every cell.

Last reviewed 25 August 2026; the oldest cell on this page was last checked against its primary source on 22 August 2026. Every cell carries its own date and source below. Data: /api/law.json.

This is a description of the law, not legal advice. Every row links to the primary source and carries the date it was last checked. Check the source before relying on it — general licences are reissued each January and commencement dates move.

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Bird control

Can gulls be killed legally?

Gulls are wild birds and killing one, or destroying a nest in use or an egg, is an offence unless it is licensed. No gull is on a general licence anywhere in the United Kingdom any more: all four nations took the large gulls off between 2019 and 2020 on conservation grounds, so control now needs an individual licence in every nation.

England

Licence or conditions apply
In force from
not recorded
Instrument
Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, section 1; licensed under section 16

Killing or taking a wild bird, or taking or destroying a nest while it is in use or an egg, is an offence under section 1 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 except under licence. No gull appears on the current general licences GL40, GL41 or GL42, which run from 1 January to 31 December 2026: GL41, the public health and safety licence, covers Canada goose, feral pigeon, jackdaw and monk parakeet only. Herring gull and lesser black-backed gull were left off Defra's general licences issued in 2019, and Natural England said on 30 January 2020 that control would be licensed individually and prioritised, generally with the protection of human life and health as the overriding priority. No commencement date is recorded here because the prohibition itself did not change: what changed is which licence is available.

GOV.UK · checked 25 August 2026

Scotland

Licence or conditions apply
In force from
not recorded
Instrument
Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, section 1; licensed under section 16

Gulls were removed from the Scottish general licences in April 2020 following observed declines in breeding populations. An individual licence from NatureScot is now needed to destroy gull nests or eggs, to relocate chicks, or to carry out lethal control. Licences are issued with quotas and require returns stating how many gulls or nests were destroyed before a renewal is granted, and NatureScot states that lethal control of chicks and adults is licensed only as a last resort. NatureScot records that Britain and Ireland hold as much as 43 per cent of the global herring gull population.

NatureScot · checked 25 August 2026

Wales

Licence or conditions apply
In force from
not recorded
Instrument
Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, section 1; licensed under section 16

Herring gull and lesser black-backed gull are not covered by a Welsh general licence, so lethal action against them, and the removal of nests or eggs, requires a specific licence from Natural Resources Wales. NRW states that it must be satisfied there is no other satisfactory solution and that preventative measures have been tried or ruled out before it will licence control, and its gull management guidance sets out proofing, exclusion and habitat modification as the alternatives to be attempted first.

Natural Resources Wales · checked 25 August 2026

Northern Ireland

Licence or conditions apply
In force from
not recorded
Instrument
Wildlife (Northern Ireland) Order 1985, licensed by DAERA

Herring gull, lesser black-backed gull and great black-backed gull have been removed from the Northern Ireland general licences. TPG1, the licence for preserving public health or public safety, covers feral pigeon and jackdaw only, and TPG2, for preventing the spread of disease and serious damage, covers hooded crow, jackdaw, magpie, rook, feral pigeon and woodpigeon. Control of a gull therefore requires an individual wildlife licence from DAERA.

DAERA · checked 25 August 2026

How to read this

Status describes the position today. Anything proposed, consulted on or before a legislature is shown separately as a proposed change, and is never counted as law.

“Not recorded” means not recorded. Where a commencement date or an instrument has not been confirmed against a primary source, the cell says so rather than estimating.

Data: /api/law.json. Corrections with a primary source are welcome — a wrong cell here is worse than a missing one.