Great Crested Newts Must Be Protected

By Author: james Bond
Total Articles: 41
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The great Crested Newt is one of the biggest native newt species we have in Britain. They are very small and delicate creatures who are very colourful and attractive. Britain is actually home to the biggest population of Great Crested Newts in the world. However, the Great Crested Newts population is in decline and they are facing lots of tough conditions which are stopping them from thriving. The threats of pollutions and destruction of habitat are very serious for Great Crested Newts and this is why they have been given protective status from the British government. This means that it is now an offence to do anything which would threaten the population of Great Crested Newts, wherever they may be.

Marshland

Great Crested Newts are most typically found in areas of marshland and are quite prevalent in the marshes of Cumbria, in the north of England. Anyone who is looking to develop land, must ensure that they do so at least 500 metres from such breeding sites of the Great Crested Newt or, they could face prosecution, so it is very important for developers to pay for a professional Great Crested Newt survey, which ...
... will identify the newts and which will provide information on whether or not a site can be developed, to avoid legal action.

Legalities

There has been legal provision for the protection of Great Crested Newts since 1981, where they were included in Appendix II of the Bern Convention and Schedule 5 of the Wildlife and countryside Act. This legislation states that it is an offence, punishable by law, to capture, trade, injure, transport, kill or disturb Great Crested Newts either intentionally or unintentionally. So it really is extremely important that newt surveys are carried out if there is any chance at all of Great Crested Newts being present on your land. An ecological consultant will be able to carry out a survey for you, identifying any problems which may arise from your development. This will allow you to come up with solutions which can ensure you do not break the law, but which will allow you to continue with your plans.

Arbtech are ecological consultants who offer affordable Great Crested Newts Surveys across the UK.