ABSTRACT
British law on wildlife protection and nature conservation is mainly found in the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and the Conservation (Natural Habitats, etc) Regulations 1994 SI 1994/2716 both of which were responses to EC Directive 79/409 and 92/43 discussed above.34 Important amendments to the former were made by the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000. The protection offered by these enactments falls into two main categories: measures protecting individual plants and animals by imposing criminal penalties upon those who interfere with particular species; and habitat designation schemes, particularly the system of National Nature Reserves (NNRs) and Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs). Although this section will focus exclusively upon these two categories of measure, it should be noted that there exists a host of legal provisions which protect wildlife indirectly. It has long been accepted that nature conservation requirements should be incorporated into general rural and farming policy. Under the Agriculture Act 1986 (s 17), ministers have a duty to seek a balance between the interests of agriculture, the economic and social needs of rural communities and the conservation of the countryside. A range of grants and incentives for environmentally friendly farming is currently available.35 In addition there are numerous pieces of legislation relating to hunted species, such as game birds and wildfowl, which are aimed primarily at protecting hunting interests rather than the species themselves. The recent Wild Mammals (Protection) Act 1996 may be mentioned, although this is an animal welfare/cruelty provision, rather than a nature conservation measure.
