Glossary

# AIPZ

A zone declared by government in which mandatory biosecurity measures apply to anyone keeping birds, whether a commercial flock, a back-garden flock or pet birds. A declaration may or may not include a housing order.

Status as at 22 August 2026: the AIPZs across Great Britain were lifted from noon on 4 June 2026. Check the government pages before relying on this — it changes with the risk level, not on a schedule.

Source: Avian influenza prevention zone (England) on GOV.UK

See also: notifiable disease

# APHA

The government agency that investigates suspected notifiable disease in animals and runs surveillance across Great Britain.

Source: Reporting notifiable disease (GOV.UK)

See also: notifiable disease

# Authorised person

Defined in section 27 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 as the owner or occupier of the land, anyone authorised by them, or a person authorised in writing by the local authority or certain other bodies. The definition confers no right of entry onto land.

It is a wider category than most people expect: a contractor authorised by an occupier is an authorised person.

Source: Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, s.27

See also: general licence

# Brachycephalic

Having a shortened, flattened skull and muzzle. Used of breeds such as the pug, French bulldog and Persian cat.

Associated in the veterinary literature with breathing difficulty, described as brachycephalic obstructive airway syndrome.

# Casualty

A wild animal admitted to a rescue for treatment. Used in the sector to distinguish wild admissions from resident or non-releasable animals in permanent care.

See also: unreleasable · rehabilitation

# Charity regulator

Registered charities are regulated by the Charity Commission in England and Wales, the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator in Scotland, and the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland in Northern Ireland.

Many lawful small rescues are unincorporated associations and appear on no register at all. Absence from a register is not evidence of anything.

# Clean boot hunting

Hounds follow the natural scent of a human runner. No animal scent and no quarry are involved.

Defra’s 2026 consultation states that a trail hunting ban is not intended to extend to clean boot hunting.

Source: Defra consultation on prohibiting trail hunting

See also: trail hunting · drag hunting

# Cubbing

Hunting activity in late summer and early autumn, before the main season opens, involving young foxes. Hunts generally use the term "autumn hunting"; "cubbing" and "cub hunting" are also in common use, including in older hunting literature.

There is no statutory definition of the term, and it does not appear in the Hunting Act 2004.

See also: trail hunting · exempt hunting

# Dangerous wild animal licence

A licence from the local authority required to keep a species listed in the schedule to the Dangerous Wild Animals Act 1976 privately. Zoos, circuses and licensed pet shops are dealt with separately.

Source: Dangerous Wild Animals Act 1976, s.1

See also: zoo licence

# DPIA

An assessment carried out before processing that is likely to result in a high risk to people’s rights, required by the UK General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018.

Relevant here because aggregating roughly 300 separate council licence registers into one searchable national database is materially different from each council publishing its own, and this site will not build that until the assessment exists.

Source: Data Protection Act 2018

See also: laia

# Drag hunting

Hounds follow an artificial scent laid over a planned route. The scent is not animal-based, and no quarry is involved.

Defra’s 2026 consultation states that a trail hunting ban is not intended to extend to drag hunting.

Source: Defra consultation on prohibiting trail hunting

See also: trail hunting · clean boot

# Duty of care

The obligation under section 9 of the Animal Welfare Act 2006 on a person responsible for an animal to meet its needs, including a suitable environment and diet, the ability to exhibit normal behaviour, appropriate housing, and protection from pain and disease.

It applies to animals for which a person is responsible, not to free-living wild animals.

Source: Animal Welfare Act 2006, s.9

See also: unnecessary suffering

# Exempt hunting

Hunting that falls within one of the classes in Schedule 1 to the Hunting Act 2004 and is therefore not an offence under section 1.

Sources: Hunting Act 2004, s.2 · Schedule 1

See also: terrier work · trail hunting

# Fledgling

A young bird that has left the nest and has feathers, but is not yet flying strongly. Fledglings are commonly found on the ground and are usually still being fed by their parents.

The most frequent reason wild birds are brought into rescues unnecessarily. A fledgling on the ground is not automatically in trouble.

See also: orphan · casualty

# FOI

A statutory right to request recorded information held by a public authority, under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. The authority must normally respond within 20 working days.

Because control carried out under a general licence does not have to be reported, FOI is the only route to a national picture of how much of it happens.

A template request you can adapt

Source: Freedom of Information Act 2000

See also: general licence

# Free-running snare

A snare whose noose is designed to relax when the animal stops pulling. Lawful in England and Northern Ireland subject to conditions; prohibited in Wales since 2023 and in Scotland since 2024.

The Animal Welfare Strategy for England of December 2025 states that the government will ban snares in England. No commencement date has been announced.

Snares across the four nations

Source: Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, s.11

See also: self locking snare

# General licence

A licence issued by a statutory body that authorises an activity by anyone who meets its conditions, without any individual application. Users do not register and, under the licences covering feral pigeon control, do not have to report what they have done.

Reissued annually. Conditions can change between one January and the next, which is why every licence row on this site carries the year and a checked date.

The four general licences compared

Source: GL41 (Natural England)

See also: gl41 · authorised person

# GL41

The general licence issued by Natural England permitting the killing or taking of listed wild birds, including feral pigeon, to preserve public health or public safety in England.

The duty to consider alternative lawful methods in Condition 1 applies to jackdaws only, not to feral pigeons.

What GL41 permits, in full

Source: GL41 on GOV.UK

See also: general licence · humane dispatcher

# Glue trap

A board coated in adhesive, used mainly against rodents. An animal caught on one is held by the adhesive rather than killed by the device.

Glue traps across the four nations

Source: Glue Traps (Offences) Act 2022

# Hare coursing

Setting dogs to chase a hare, historically in competition. Prohibited in England and Wales by section 5 of the Hunting Act 2004.

Source: Hunting Act 2004, s.5

# Humane dispatcher

A person engaged to kill birds or animals, a term used in pest control contracts and job records rather than in legislation.

There is no statutory definition and no licensing requirement attached to the term. Condition 2 of GL41 requires that any bird killed under the licence is killed in a quick and humane manner.

Where the term appears in the TfL records

Source: GL41 conditions

See also: gl41

# Imping

Repairing a bird’s damaged flight feather by splicing a donor feather onto the remaining shaft, so the bird can fly before its next moult. A falconry technique also used in rehabilitation.

See also: rehabilitation

# LAIA

Shorthand for the Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018, under which local authorities license dog and cat boarding, dog breeding, selling animals as pets, hiring out horses, and keeping or training animals for exhibition. Licensed businesses are given a star rating.

Each council publishes its own register. There is no single national register, which is why aggregating them raises data protection questions this site has not yet answered.

Source: The Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018

See also: dpia

# Lairage

The holding accommodation where animals are kept at a slaughterhouse before they are killed. The term is used throughout the Welfare of Animals at the Time of Killing (England) Regulations 2015.

Source: The Welfare of Animals at the Time of Killing (England) Regulations 2015

# Notifiable disease

A disease that must be reported to the authorities on suspicion, whether or not it is confirmed. Failure to report is an offence.

Source: Paramyxovirus infection: how to spot and report it (GOV.UK)

See also: aipz · paramyxovirus

# Orphan

A dependent young animal whose parents are dead or absent. Distinguishing a genuine orphan from a young animal whose parents are simply out of sight is the core judgement in spring and summer admissions.

See also: fledgling

# Paramyxovirus

A virus affecting pigeons and other birds. Signs may include trembling of the wings and head, twisting of the neck, and partial paralysis of the wings and legs.

Notifiable in Great Britain in kept birds classified as poultry, which includes captive pigeons: suspicion must be reported immediately. Organisers of pigeon races and shows must ensure entered birds are vaccinated.

Sources: Paramyxovirus infection: how to spot and report it (GOV.UK) · The Racing Pigeons (Vaccination) Order 1994

See also: notifiable disease

# Rehabilitation

Treating and conditioning a wild animal with the intention of returning it to the wild.

See also: soft release · unreleasable

# Schedule 1 bird

A bird listed in Schedule 1 to the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, protected by special penalties. It is an offence to disturb one while it is building a nest or is in, on or near a nest containing eggs or young.

Source: Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, Schedule 1

# Self-locking snare

A snare whose noose continues to tighten as the animal struggles and does not release. Setting one has been prohibited across Great Britain since the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.

Snares across the four nations

Source: Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, s.11

See also: free running snare

# Sett stopping

Blocking the entrances to a badger sett. Interfering with a sett is an offence under section 3 of the Protection of Badgers Act 1992.

The Act originally contained an exception at section 8(4) permitting sett stopping for the purpose of hunting foxes with hounds. That exception was repealed in Scotland on 1 August 2002 and in England and Wales on 18 February 2005 by the Hunting Act 2004.

Source: Protection of Badgers Act 1992, s.8

See also: terrier work

# Soft release

Returning an animal to the wild gradually, with food, shelter or an enclosure available at the release site while it re-establishes itself. A hard release, by contrast, returns the animal directly with no continuing support.

See also: rehabilitation

# Spring trap

A trap designed to kill by striking the animal. Only traps approved by order under section 8 of the Pests Act 1954 may be used, and only for the species and in the manner the approval specifies.

Source: Pests Act 1954, s.8

See also: free running snare

# Statutory nature conservation body

The four public bodies that issue wildlife licences: Natural England in England, Natural Resources Wales in Wales, NatureScot in Scotland, and the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs in Northern Ireland. Each issues its own general licences on its own terms, which is the main reason the four nations diverge in practice as well as in statute.

The four licences side by side

Source: GL41 (Natural England)

See also: general licence

# Stringfoot

Hair, thread or fishing line wound tightly around the toes or foot of a bird, most often a feral pigeon. The constriction restricts blood supply and can lead to the loss of toes if it is not removed.

A rescue-sector term with no statutory definition. It is time-critical, which is why it appears as its own branch in triage guidance.

See also: casualty · unreleasable

# Terrier work

Using a dog below ground, typically against a fox in an earth or drain.

Schedule 1 to the Hunting Act 2004 contains a narrow exemption covering the use of a dog below ground to protect birds kept for shooting, subject to conditions. The Hunting with Dogs (Scotland) Act 2023 takes a different approach in Scotland.

Source: Hunting Act 2004, Schedule 1

See also: exempt hunting · sett stopping

# Trail hunting

The activity in which a dog is directed to find and follow an animal-based scent laid for that purpose. That wording is the statutory definition in Scotland; there is no equivalent definition in the law of England and Wales.

Prohibited in Scotland since 3 October 2023. Not prohibited in England, Wales or Northern Ireland. Defra consulted on prohibiting it in England and Wales between 26 March and 18 June 2026.

Trail hunting across the four nations

Source: Hunting with Dogs (Scotland) Act 2023, s.14

See also: drag hunting · clean boot · cubbing

# Unnecessary suffering

The central offence in the Animal Welfare Act 2006: causing, or permitting, an animal to suffer where the suffering could reasonably have been avoided.

Acting outside a general licence can mean the licence is not available as a defence to this offence.

Source: Animal Welfare Act 2006, s.4

See also: duty of care · gl41

# Unreleasable

An animal that cannot be returned to the wild, usually because of permanent injury or because it has been hand-reared and lacks the behaviour it needs to survive.

What happens next varies between organisations: lifelong care, placement in an aviary or sanctuary, or euthanasia. This site records that policy as a field on each listing because it is the question finders most often need answered and most often cannot find.

See also: casualty · rehabilitation

# Zoo licence

A licence required to operate a zoo, granted by the local authority under the Zoo Licensing Act 1981 and subject to periodic inspection.

Source: Zoo Licensing Act 1981, s.1

See also: dwa licence