Invasive non-native (alien) animal species: rules in England and Wales

There are 30 species of invasive non-native (alien) animal that are listed as of concern to the EU because of their:

• invasiveness
• ability to establish in several nations across Europe

They cause severe problems for native animals and the environment.

Restrictions on invasive alien animals

You must follow strict laws:

• when owning or looking after them
• if you find one
• when selling or displaying them as part of your business

You must not do any of the following:

• keep them in your house, garden or business
• sell them to other people
• exchange them for goods
• release into the environment
• let them breed or escape
• import them into the UK
• transport them within the UK
• export them to other countries

These rules apply to any live species and any part that might reproduce, such as eggs that will hatch.

Exemptions

You might be exempt if you:

• owned one as a pet before the species was listed
• have a permit or licence to keep them in certain circumstances, such as research or conservation
• are still within certain time limits to sell them

Leaving the EU

From 1 January 2021, the same rules will still apply. The EU laws remain in force and become UK law. This is known as ‘retained EU law’.

List of invasive non-native (alien) animals

Check this list to find out which animals are widely and non-widely spread, and when they were listed.

Widely spread

Common name	Scientific name	When it was listed
Chinese mitten crab	Eriocheir sinensis	3 August 2016
Egyptian goose	Alopochen aegyptiacus	2 August 2017
Grey squirrel	Sciurus carolinensis	3 August 2016
Muntjac deer	Muntiacus reevesi	3 August 2016
Signal crayfish	Pacifastacus leniusculus	3 August 2016
Terrapins - all subspecies including red-eared slider, yellow-bellied slider, Cumberland slider and common slider	Trachemys scripta	3 August 2016

Non-widely spread

Common name	Scientific name	When it was listed
Asian hornet	Vespa velutina nigrithorax	3 August 2016
Chinese sleeper/Amur sleeper	Percottus glenii	3 August 2016
Coati	Nasua nasua	3 August 2016
Common myna	Acridotheres tristis	15 August 2019
Coypu	Myocastor coypus	3 August 2016
Fox squirrel	Sciurus niger	3 August 2016
Indian house crow	Corvus splendens	3 August 2016
Marbled crayfish	Procambarus fallax f. virginalis (Procambarus virginalis)	3 August 2016
Muskrat	Ondatra zibethicus	2 August 2017
New Zealand flatworm	Arthurdendyus triangulatus	15 August 2019
North American bullfrog	Lithobates (Rana) catesbeianus	3 August 2016
Pallas’s squirrel	Callosciurus erythraeus	3 August 2016
Pumpkinseed	Lepomis gibbosus	15 August 2019
Raccoon	Procyon lotor	3 August 2016
Raccoon dog	Nyctereutes procyonoides	2 February 2019
Red swamp crayfish	Procambarus clarkii	3 August 2016
Ruddy duck	Oxyura jamaicensis	3 August 2016
Sacred ibis	Threskiornis aethiopicus	3 August 2016
Siberian chipmunk	Tamias sibiricus	3 August 2016
Small Asian mongoose / Javan mongoose	Herpestes javanicus	3 August 2016
Spiny-cheek crayfish	Orconectes limosus (Faxonius limosus)	3 August 2016
Striped eel catfish	Plotosus lineatus	15 August 2019
Topmouth gudgeon (also known as stone moroko)	Pseudorasbora parva	3 August 2016
Virile crayfish	Orconectes virilis (Faxonius virilis)	3 August 2016

Keeping as pets (‘companion animals’)

If you kept one of these animals as a pet in the UK before it was listed, you can keep it for the rest of its life without a permit or licence as long as all the following apply:

• you keep it as a pet and not for any business reason
• you keep it in a ‘contained holding’ that it cannot escape from, for example, a cage or aquarium
• you do not let it breed
• you do not sell or exchange it

If you got the animal after it was listed without realising it’s an offence, you must contact one of the following for guidance:

• Natural England, if you’re in England
• Natural Resources Wales, if you’re in Wales
• the wildlife crime officer at your local police force

Preventing your pet from breeding

You must not allow your pet to breed.

You could be prosecuted or fined if you allow this. Your animal could also be confiscated.

You do not have to spay or neuter your pet but you may choose to do this to stop it breeding.

Identifying your pet

You should microchip your pet.

A microchip will help you find your pet if it escapes. It’s also evidence of how long you’ve owned your pet.

If you cannot microchip your pet, try to mark it with identification in some other way.

Walking your pet

You must not take your pet out for walks, even on a lead. Your pet must stay in a contained holding at your home.

Transporting your pet

You can transport your animal, for example if you need to:

• move house
• take it to vet

When you transport it, you must keep it in a contained holding, such as a pet carrier, to make sure it cannot escape.

Pet boarding

You can take your animal to pet boarding or to a friend’s house, as long as:

• you keep it under control when transporting it
• it cannot escape

The person looking after it must keep your animal in a contained holding and not allow it to escape or breed. They do not need a licence to look after your pet on a temporary basis.

Rehoming your pet

You can take it to an animal rescue centre where they can:

• keep it for the rest of its life
• rehome it with a new owner

You can also give it to someone else, but you cannot sell or exchange it for money or other goods.

Give the new owner or rescue centre evidence that you got your pet before the species was listed so they have proof the animal can be kept without breaking the law.

Evidence could be:

• a signed and dated transfer form from the owner before you, confirming the date of birth
• a dated receipt for when you bought the animal (the date must be before the species was listed)
• a signed statement from a vet or copy of your vet records, with the date the animal was registered at the vets
• a breeding certificate, showing the date of birth
• a dated microchip certificate
• dated copies of pet insurance paperwork
• adoption paperwork, showing the date it was adopted

You can also take your pet to a vet to be put to sleep.

You must not release your pet into the wild.

Rescue centres

If you run a rescue centre, you can keep a listed invasive alien animal for up to 6 weeks without a permit or licence on a temporary basis.

If it was a companion animal, it can be rehomed as a companion animal.

If it is a widely spread species and not kept as a companion animal, you can rehome it with a person who holds the correct licence.

If it is a non-widely spread species, contact Natural England or Natural Resources Wales for guidance.

While you’re temporarily minding the animal, you must:

• keep it in a contained holding
• stop it from escaping or breeding

Once it’s rehomed, the new owner can keep it without a permit.

Give the new owner evidence that it was acquired legally, before the animal was listed. Evidence could be:

• a signed and dated transfer from the previous owner, completed when the animal was taken to the centre, confirming the date of birth when they got it
• a dated receipt for the animal (the date must be before the species was listed)
• a signed statement from a vet or copy of the vet records, with the date the animal was registered at the vets
• a breeding certificate, showing date of birth
• a dated microchip certificate
• dated copies of pet insurance paperwork
• adoption paperwork, showing the date it was adopted

If the animal was acquired after the species was listed, you must contact one of the following for guidance:

• Natural England, if you’re in England
• Natural Resources Wales, if you’re in Wales
• the wildlife crime officer at your local police force

Keeping an animal long term

If you want to keep an animal in rescue long term, you’ll need to get a licence.

This applies if either:

• the animal is a wildly spread species taken from the wild and you’ll keep it in captivity for the rest of its natural life
• you believe it was a companion animal but you cannot find the owner and you’ll keep it in captivity for the rest of its life

If it is a non-widely spread species, contact Natural England or Natural Resources Wales for guidance.

If you find a listed invasive alien animal in the wild or on your land

If you find a widely spread animal, you do not have to take any action.

If you work in wildlife management, and can do so, you should take management action, for example, such as setting traps or using deterrents.

Releasing an accidentally restrained animal

If an animal has been accidentally caught, for example, it’s trapped in wire netting, you can release it. This is not considered intentional release.

You should not take listed animals out of the wild and into your own possession.

If you’ve already taken an animal out of the wild, for example, to a vet or to keep it yourself, you must not release it back into the wild. This would be an offence. You must now take it to a rescue centre where they’ll need a licence to keep it.

If you work in wildlife management

If you’re controlling a wildlife population using humane measures, such as setting traps, then you must be trained and equipped to set traps properly.

You should take reasonable steps to avoid capturing non-targeted animals. If you do catch a listed invasive alien animal unintentionally, and have the correct training and equipment, you should try to humanely kill the animal, if possible.

You can also take it to a licensed or permitted holding.

Monitoring and research

If you accidentally catch a listed invasive alien animal during ringing or monitoring operations of other animals, you will not have committed an offence if you immediately release it.

You can also take it to a licensed or permitted holding.

Find a licensed or permitted holding

To find one, contact any of the following:

• Natural England, if you’re in England
• Natural Resources Wales, if you’re in Wales
• APHA

Animal retailers

You must not sell listed invasive alien animal species except in limited circumstances set out in this section.

Existing stock

If you have animals in stock from before they were listed, you have 12 months from the time they were listed to sell the animal to a member of the public.

A member of the public can buy one of these animals from you and keep it until the end of its natural life without a permit or licence as long as they make sure it:

• is kept in a contained holding, such as a cage
• cannot breed or escape

You should keep proof of purchase to show when you bought the animal. You can then pass this on to the new owner.

You have 24 months from the time the animal was listed to sell or transfer to an establishment that has the correct permit from APHA. It’s your responsibility to make sure the new owner has the correct permit.

You can also contact a vet to put an animal to sleep, to reduce your stock.

Outside the time limits

If you have stock and you’re outside the 12 or 24 month time limits, contact Natural England or Natural Resources Wales for guidance.

Stock that you got without realising it was a listed species

You cannot legally keep these animals. You can only try to rehome them at locations that have permits where they can be kept until the end of their lives. Contact Natural England or Natural Resources Wales for guidance.

You must not release these animals into the wild.

Animal encounter businesses

You must not use these species in shows or exhibitions that allow the public to interact with these animals.

You cannot keep an encounter animal as a pet if:

• has been previously kept for commercial reasons
• it came into your possession after the species was listed

You can email Natural England or Natural Resources Wales for advice on what to do if you still own animals that you can no longer use as part of your animal encounter business.

Zoos and aquariums

Zoos and aquariums can only keep listed invasive alien animals if they’re used for:

• ‘ex-situ conservation’ (caring for animals outside their natural habitat under controlled conditions)
• research

You’ll need a permit from APHA to keep these animals for either of these 2 reasons.

In your application, you’ll need to show how you plan to use the species for research or conservation.

Include a full stock list of the invasive alien animal species in your collection when you apply.

You must prevent breeding. You do not have to sterilise an invasive alien animal although you might choose to do this as a way of preventing breeding.

Identifying animals

You must mark or identify the listed animal using methods that do not hurt the animal.

You should microchip the animals. If you cannot microchip an animal, use ringing or shell marking instead.

Moving between zoos

You can transfer these animals between different zoos. Both zoos will need a permit in place before transferring the animal.

The sending zoo will need a permit for transport.

The receiving zoo will need a permit for keeping.

Sending to a zoo abroad

If you’re sending an animal to a zoo outside the UK, contact the importing country before you export.

They may have their own permitting rules you’ll need to follow. They may also refuse the consignment.

If they do allow you to export to their country, apply to APHA for a permit to transport it.

Using invasive alien species as feed

If you currently use listed species as feed, such as crayfish,you can continue to do this but the species must be bought and transported as a dead feed.

You must not buy live crayfish. If your zoo animals need a live feed, you’ll need to find a different and unlisted species to use as a live feed.

Research or educational establishments

If you’re a university or college that keeps these species, you’ll need a permit from APHA. You should apply under the research category.

Follow the same rules as zoos when keeping or moving your animals.

Crayfish trappers and fishing

There are 5 species of crayfish and 1 species of crab that are listed as alien invasive animal species.

Common name	Scientific name	When it was listed
Chinese mitten crab	Eriocheir sinensis	3 August 2016
Marbled crayfish	Pracambarus fallax f. virginalis	3 August 2016
Red swamp crayfish	Procambarus clarkii	3 August 2016
Signal crayfish	Pacifastacus leniusculus	3 August 2016
Spiny-cheek crayfish	Orconectes limosus	3 August 2016
Virile crayfish	Orconectes virilis	3 August 2016

Authorisation to trap

You need authorisation to put a trap in the water to catch crayfish.

Once you’ve got authorisation, you can take specimens that you killed on the riverbank away. For example, for consumption at home.

You must not take live specimens away from the riverbank. You must kill them where you caught them. However, there are 2 exceptions to this:

• if you have a licence, for example, to keep live crayfish for commercial processing on your premises in England
• if you have a permit to keep live specimens for research or conservation in England and Wales

Bycatch (accidental capture)

If you accidentally catch a listed invasive alien crayfish or crab, and can humanely kill it, you should do so. You must not take it home live.

If you cannot kill it humanely, you can release it immediately back where you caught it. Report when you’ve done this on IRecord so it can be logged and added to national databases to:

• protect endangered native species
• be used in management activities

You must not return listed species caught as bycatch to any other place than where you caught it.

If you’re not sure if it’s a listed invasive alien species of crayfish or crab, you should return it alive to the place you caught it. This is so you do not accidentally kill native endangered species instead.

Again, you must not return it to any other place than where you caught it.

Permits

You can get a permit for:

• research
• ‘ex situ conservation’ (caring for animals outside their natural habitat under controlled conditions)
• scientific production (for use of these species in medicinal products for advancement of human health)

You can only get a permit if you’re working in an enclosed environment, such as a zoo or research establishment.

How to get a permit

Apply to the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA).

Licences

Find out which licence you may need depending on if you’re in England or Wales.

England

You can get a licence to carry out the following with listed invasive animals:

• move or keep them in captivity until the end of their natural life (IAS A01)
• manage or control them (IAS A02)
• temporary commercial use of an invasive alien species as part of a management measure (IAS A02)

Wales

You can get a licence to carry out the following:

• keep a listed animal in a facility until the end of its natural life as well as any activities needed such as transporting)
• manage or control a listed animal

Penalties for breaking the law

Different penalties apply depending on the seriousness of the offence.

You may:

• get a warning
• be served with a notice, for example a compliance or restoration notice, where you must take steps to fix damage
• be fined
• be sent to prison for a maximum of 3 months for a summary offence or 2 years for an indictable offence

In addition, if you’ve got a permit or licence and commit an offence, you may:

• lose your permit or licence
• not be allowed to get another one for up to 5 years

Contact details

APHA

Contact APHA:

• for information about permits for research or conservation
• to report a permit offence

Telephone: 03000 200 301
Email: zooandinvasive@apha.gov.uk

Natural England

Contact Natural England:

• for queries about licences to manage, control, move or keep these species in captivity
• to report a licence offence
• for guidance if you got an animal after it was listed, in England

Telephone: 020 8026 1089
Email: invasive-alien-species-licence@naturalengland.org.uk

Natural Resources Wales

Contact Natural Resources Wales:

• for queries about licences for to manage, control, move or keep these species in captivity
• to report a licence offence
• for guidance if you got an animal after it was listed, in Wales

Telephone: 03000 653000
Email: specieslicence@naturalresourceswales.gov.uk

Police

Contact the police to report:

• advertising for sale of a listed species
• other serious offences

Search for your local force and ask for a wildlife crime officer.