GovWire

Birds you must register

You must register the following birds of prey (schedule 4 birds) if youre their keeper:

• honey buzzard
• white-tailed eagle
• golden eagle
• goshawk
• marsh harrier
• Montagus harrier
• osprey
• peregrine falcon
• merlin

Youre the keeper of any bird thats in your care even if you dont own it.

To register a bird of prey you must ring or microchip it and return a registration form to the Centre for International Trade - Bristol (CIT-Bristol). There are different forms depending on the situation - this guide explains which form you must use and when.

Contact CIT-Bristol

When you dont have to register

You dont have to register:

• hybrids of schedule 4 birds
• sick or injured birds that youre looking after temporarily

Birds with no ring

You must only ring merlins and peregrines with commercially manufactured rings, not rings that you make yourself. You should generally use commercially manufactured rings when ringing any bird.

The ring must be marked with a unique number youve created. Make sure the number is unique by including details like:

• your initials
• your postcode
• your phone number
• the year the bird hatched

When to microchip birds

You must have a bird microchipped if the ring falls off or you cant ring the bird (for example if its too old). You can also choose to have a bird microchipped if you cant read the number on a ring or have it removed.

You should ask a vet to remove a ring or microchip a bird.

The microchip must have a 15-digit number. Send the registration document to CIT-Bristol with the microchip number, telling them that you took the ring off or couldnt read it.

You can give a bird both a ring and a microchip.

Birds with no previous registration documents

Check whether the bird is ringed or microchipped. If not, you must ring it (or have it microchipped).

Complete this registration form if you:

• are registering a bird for the first time
• get a bird with no registration documents

Send the completed form to CIT-Bristol.

Ringing chicks bred in captivity

You must ring (with a uniquely marked seamlessly closed leg-ring). If this isnt possible then you must microchip the chick (with a uniquely numbered, unalterable microchip transponder conforming to ISO Standards 11784: 1996 (E) and 11785: 1996 (E)).

Registering chicks bred in captivity

Because females grow to be larger than males, you may fit 2 different-sized rings to chicks and later take off 1 ring when you know the sex. After you take the ring off, return the registration document to CIT-Bristol and tell them that you took 1 ring off when you found out the birds sex. Theyll send you a corrected registration document.

There are different rules for ringing and registering chicks depending on what country youre in.

England

You must register captive-bred:

• chicks before theyre 15 days old
• white-tailed and golden eagles before theyre 30 days old

Wales

You must register all captive-bred chicks before theyre 15 days old.

Scotland

You must register all captive-bred chicks before theyre 20 days old.

General licences

You can get a general licence to keep wild birds without registering them in these countries:

• England
• Wales
• Scotland

You dont need to apply for this general licence but you must meet its conditions and follow its instructions.

Who can use a general licence

You can use a general licence if you:

• have been the registered keeper of 3 disabled wild-bred birds returned them to the wild and notified Natural Resources Wales / Welsh Government
• are an RSPCA inspector
• are an RSPB official
• are a place which is approved by the SSPCA for the purpose of caring for schedule 4 birds
• are a suitably experienced employee of a police force.

If youre a vet treating an injured wild schedule 4 bird, you can keep it for up to 6 weeks without registering it under a general licence.

Register birds with a new keeper

If you get a bird that is already registered with CIT-Bristol, the bird should already be ringed (or microchipped) and come to you with a blue registration document. The keeper that youre getting the bird from should:

1. Tear off the disposal slip at the bottom of the blue registration document.
2. Fill in your details.
3. Send the slip to CIT-Bristol.

Then you must fill in the back of the form and send it to CIT-Bristol with the transfer fee (the fee you have to pay to transfer a registered bird to a new keeper).

Merlins or peregrines

If you get a merlin or a peregrine that is already ringed (or microchipped) and has a valid UK article 10 certificate, you dont need to register it.

Imported birds

If you import a schedule 4 bird to the UK, you dont have to change the ring as long as you can read the numbers or letters on it.

You must fill in the registration document, and send it to CIT-Bristol.

If you import a merlin or a peregrine, however, you must apply for a UK article 10 certificate instead. Article 10 certificates issued by other EU countries arent valid for registration in the UK.

Birds used commercially

If you want to use a schedule 4 bird commercially, you have to make sure its ringed (or microchipped), and fill in the form to register it and apply for an article 10 certificate at the same time. Send the completed form to CIT-Bristol.

Commercial use includes:

• buying and selling
• advertising for sale
• breeding
• displaying a bird for commercial reasons, eg in a shop

Injured wild schedule 4 birds

If you have a general licence you can keep an injured wild bird for up to 15 days without registering it. During this time you must treat the bird so its fit to be released into the wild.

You can keep these types of birds if theyre injured:

• honey buzzards
• golden eagles
• white-tailed eagles
• peregrine falcons
• goshawks
• marsh harriers
• Montagus harriers
• merlins
• ospreys

If you are a vet treating an injured wild schedule 4 bird, you can keep it under a general licence for up to 6 weeks without registering it.

Disabled wild schedule 4 birds

If a vet confirms that an injured bird is permanently disabled (in other words, you cant release it back to the wild), you must ring it or have it microchipped and 