Why are Wildlife Laws Made?
Throughout this module we will study all of the major legislation which affects UK wildlife. This lesson in particular focuses on the major international wildlife law the UK has ratified. Before we can look at these however, we need to have some background. Why do we make laws about wildlife?
The Law Commission has identified four major themes in UK Wildlife law. The two oldest reasons for making laws treat wildlife as an economic asset which needs to be exploited or protected from exploitation for the interests of the wealthy ruling class:
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To control pest species.
For example, early historians like Raphael Holinshed claimed that King Egbert of England demanded a tribute of 300 wolf skins each year from the Welsh borders to help eradicate the animals. Whether this claim is true or not, landowners were often required to eliminate wolves wherever they could be found, and laws like this probably led to the extinction of wolves in the United Kingdom.
This kind of law would not be passed today, but the United Kingdom still classes some species as pests. In Lesson 4 we will look at the English Pests Act (1954) which is seldom enforced but technically requires every landowner to ‘control’ (exterminate) rabbits on their land.
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To encourage sustainable exploitation.
You probably know that swans belong to the crown in the United Kingdom. They, along with beached ‘royal fish’ (whales, dolphins, porpoises, sturgeon and sharks), have been protected since the medieval period. The birds are so fearless that if they were not protected they might have all been eaten. By giving the birds crown protection, the birds were left alone and could be protected for the consumption of the ruling class alone in perpetuity
This is also why today deer, seal (in some parts of the country), salmon and trout are all given closed seasons when they are protected from capture. More recently, laws have been made which value wildlife for non-economic reasons.
For animal-welfare reasons.
3. In the United Kingdom in particular, several laws have been prompted by charities and individuals wanting to make sure animals are treated kindly. Wild Mammals are especially protected in the UK under the Wild Mammals (protection) Act (1996). Hunting with dogs was made illegal in the United Kingdom by the Hunting Act (2004). We will look at this legislation in Lesson 4.
To some extent, these reasons for protection can contradict each other. Although some species damage human economic interests and therefore should be controlled, they should not be mistreated for animal-welfare reasons. Sometimes, in order to conserve one threatened species, others must be controlled (exterminated). For example, in Britain, the common grey squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) must be controlled (exterminated) in some areas to conserve the declining red squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris).
The important thing to remember here is that Wildlife Law offers a compromise between the interests of every group which deals with wildlife. No single group of people
is completely happy with the law, but every group can use it.
International Treaty Laws: Introduction
Although this module looks mainly at wildlife law in the United Kingdom, we can’t just focus on laws made in this country. The United Kingdom has ratified (signed and made official) several international treaty-laws which affect people living in this country. There are a few reasons that the United Kingdom does this:
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Animals and birds often do not obey national borders. In order to protect them we need international laws.
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Wildlife crime is now an international problem. For example, parts of certain animals like tigers, elephants and rhinos are killed in their home countries in order that they can be sold far away. The United Kingdom needs to have laws making this illegal in order to help protect these species, even though they are not native.
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Uniformity helps make wildlife law fairer and easier. If every country had different laws it would make protecting wildlife very difficult. In addition, wildlife laws always involve a concession of rights, so they can sometimes actually hurt a country’s economy and culture. If laws are international and uniform, the idea is that the countries with the richest biodiversity are not unfairly affected. In practice this is not always the case.
The rest of Lesson 1 will look at the major international wildlife laws which have been ratified by the United Kingdom.
The International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling (1946)
The first treaty-law we will look at has been a major success story. It is usually referred to simply as the Whaling Convention (1946) and it was written in a major crisis period. At the time, large whales were becoming very rare globally due to the over-exploitation of commercial whalers (whale-catchers). Whaling had moved from ocean to ocean and from species to species, finding a new site or species when older ones had become depleted. The effects of that are still being seen today. The earliest targeted species of whale, the right whale (Eubalena glacialis) and the grey whale (Eschrichtius robustus) remain extinct in the East Atlantic (around Europe) although the right whale is occasionally seen in the West Atlantic. The treaty recognised that the industry was destined to collapse, and aimed to make the whaling industry sustainable, so that whaling could continue to be carried out by future generations.
The treaty is defined by a series of Articles. After defining a series of key terms, the treaty:
Article 3 & 4: Creates the International Whaling Commission (IWC) to research whales.
Article 5 & 6: Gives the IWC the power to regulate whaling and give recommendations to countries.
Article 7: Requires governments to provide information to the IWC.
Article 8: Allows countries to take whales for scientific research;
Article 9: Requires countries to enforce the treaty, and expressly forbade whale-catching scientists from being paid extra.
The IWC is responsible for enforcing closed-seasons, commercial catch limits and permitted catch methods in a Schedule for the Treaty.
In 1985 (in Antarctica) and 1986 everywhere else, the quota for commercial whaling each year was voluntarily set to 0 by the IWC. This was called the ‘Moratorium on Whaling’.
The Commission felt that any commercial whaling at all would be dangerous for species stocks. Three countries lodged “reservations” about this quota.
At time of writing (2015) the quota remains at 0 for all species covered (baleen and toothed whales). It does not cover dolphins or porpoises.
The Convention on Wetlands of International Importance, Especially as Waterfowl Habitat (1971)
This convention is usually referred to as Ramsar (1971) after the town in Iran where the treaty was signed. It was prompted by the continued drainage of wetland areas which was taking place to allow agricultural and industrial development of land. The loss of this habitat was significantly affecting populations of waterbirds and so the treaty aimed to protect important habitats.
A site should be nominated as a Ramsar Wetland if it (1) contains a rare habitat site; (2) contains vulnerable or endangered species, supports species important for biodiversity or supports plant or animal species at a critical stage of their life cycles; (3) regularly supports 20,000 waterbirds or 1% of a total species or subspecies of wetland-dependant species (not just birds) or (4) contains internationally important stocks of indigenous fish species or subspecies. Sites beneath these levels may still be eligible, but all above this level should be nominated.
The treaty required each party country to:
Article 2: Identify important wetlands.
Article 3: work towards their “wise” (sustainable and informed) use and co-operate to conserve wetlands and species.
Article 4: establish nature reserves on wetlands for research and conservation, provide for their wardening, and compensate any sites lost.
Article 5-7: confer with others about plans in an expert conference every three years. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is currently the bureau in charge of administrating this convention.
As of 2015, the United Kingdom has nominated 168 Ramsar sites, and made them all Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSIs), or Areas of Special Scientific Interest (ASSIs) in Northern Ireland.
