S.L. 549.74 Art. 7Licence contents.

Every Autumn live-capturing licence issued in terms of these regulations shall:

(a) indicate the dates of the Autumn live-capturing season;

(b) specify that no capturing may take place between two GOLDEN PLOVER) S.L.549.74 [

hours after sunset and two hours before sunrise of the following day;

(c) provide that no capturing shall be allowed within protected areas;

(d) specify that the live-capturing of the relevant species shall be exercised only on the sites which are approved for that purpose by the Wild Birds Regulation Unit;

(e) specify that each Special Licence holder is only authorised to use one (1) live-capturing station registered with the Wild Birds Regulation Unit and that such live-capturing station shall not contain more than two (2) pairs of clap-nets from one (1) hide: Provided that if only one clap-net pair is approved, the setting up of an additional clap-net pair is prohibited: Provided further that subdivision of a hide into two or more hides to make use of more than two clap-net pairs from the original hide is prohibited.

(f) provide that the layering of two or more nets on top of each other or any other modification, including creation of ‘pockets’, is strictly prohibited;

(g) provide that the licensee shall only use traditional manually-operated selective clap-nets which consist of two parallel nets spread flat on the ground which capture birds by clapping over each other on the ground, and which are armed and operated solely by human intervention without the use of any external power means including electrical, electronic, or mechanical means;

(h) specify that before the licensee leaves the live-capturing site and during prohibited hours, the nets shall either be removed or the clap-net pair(s) deactivated and the nets completely covered: Provided that the clap-nets, including nets and poles, shall be completely dismantled immediately upon closure of the live-capturing season and removed from the site.

(i) specify the overall seasonal bag limits for an Autumn live-capturing season for the relevant species as the total number of birds which may be captured under the authority of all issued licences taken together: Provided that the total number of each specimen of the relevant species which may be live-captured during an autumn live-capturing season shall be set by the Minister by notice in the Gazette, using as a basis the figures contained in the First Schedule and taking into consideration the conservation status of the particular species concerned and the maintenance of the population of the species at a satisfactory level; S.L.549.74 GOLDEN PLOVER)

(j) specify the total Autumn live-capturing seasonal bag limits for each licence, and any daily bag limits for each licence, provided such daily bag limit is established by the Minister in accordance with regulation 4;

(k) provide that the number of live-decoys within each live-capturing station at any one time shall not exceed ten (10) birds from the relevant species (any combination from the two species up to a maximum of ten), irrespective of the number of licensees present at the same station;

(l) provide that, without prejudice to paragraph (k), a bird from the relevant species may only be used as a live-decoy if it is fitted with a single-use ring approved by the Wild Birds Regulation Unit for that purpose;

(m) require the licensee, as soon as a bird from the relevant species is live-captured, to report such catch on the number indicated by the Wild Birds Regulation Unit for that purpose and also provide that should, during the course of a spot check, a police officer find a bird not fitted with a single-use ring, and such bird had not been declared by the licence holder on that same day before the spot check, the licence holder shall be subject to the penalties established in Schedule VIII of the

Conservation of Wild Birds Regulations;

(n) provide that the possession and/or use of pre-recorded bird calls shall be strictly prohibited even if the device is left unattended, and also provide that should, during an inspection by enforcement personnel, such device be detected during prohibited hours, the live-capturing station shall be deregistered forthwith and cannot be used by any licence holder for the duration of the season;

(o) provide that the live-capturing of birds other than the relevant species shall be strictly prohibited;

(p) require that should the licensee catch a bird of the relevant species fitted with a scientific ring, the licensee shall immediately release the bird into the wild from the same live-capturing station after the details of the scientific ring are recorded on the ring recovery form issued by the Wild Birds Regulation Unit, and also require that such form is returned to the Unit within one week from closure of the season;

(q) require that the general licence to take birds, the site plan approved by the Wild Birds Regulation Unit and registered with the Commissioner of Police, and the means of identification shall be kept by the licensee together with the licence issued under these regulations at all times whilst the licensee is at the live-capturing site or travelling to and from the live-GOLDEN PLOVER) S.L.549.74 [

capturing site;

(r) reproduce the prohibitions provided for in regulations

18 and 20 of the Wild Birds Regulations, without prejudice to any other prohibition laid down in the same regulations;

(s) require that any legal restriction or obligation, including with regard to place, dates, days, times and bag limits, as well as the conditions set out in the licence, are strictly complied with by the licensee;

(t) reproduce the provisions of regulations 3 and 6;

(u) provide that during the open season Golden Plovers shall not be kept in cages smaller than 280mm in length, 240mm in width and 240mm in height and also provided that during the open season Song Thrushes shall not be kept in cages smaller than 210mm in length, 160mm in width and 200mm in height.

(v) provide for other conditions of relevance to ensure that the derogation is properly implemented, limited in scope, on a selective basis and strictly supervised in line with the Conservation of Wild Birds Regulations and the Birds

Directive (2009/147/EC).