United Kingdom legislation for plant protection extends to
land, including land covered by water, and territorial waters. The
legislation prohibits any person from intentionally (in Scotland,
also recklessly) picking, uprooting or destroying wild plants which
are listed on the appropriate Schedule, and it is an offence to
sell such wild plants. The legislation also prohibits the uprooting
of wild plants not listed on the Schedule, unless the uprooting is
carried out by the owner or occupier of the land on which the plant
is growing, or by someone having their permission to do so, or
unless the action is authorised in writing by the appropriate local
authority, although such authorisation does not confer a right of
entry to the land.
It is a defence if the damage done to a protected plant listed
on the Schedule is the result of an otherwise lawful action and
could not reasonably have been avoided. The uprooting, picking or
damaging of protected plants may be permitted under licence for
purposes of science, education, conservation and photography, or to
preserve public health or safety, or to prevent the spread of
disease, or for the purpose of preventing serious damage to
livestock, crops, growing timber or other form of property, or
fisheries. The sale of such plants may also be permitted under
licence, which must be obtained by the appropriate authority.
In Great Britain, wildlife inspectors have the authority to
enter and inspect a premise to investigate if the selling or
intended sale of plants has been committed on the premise, and they
have the power to take samples where they deem it necessary.
In the United Kingdom, wild plants are also protected by
European legislation, however there are no additional species which
are protected; the appropriate Schedule lists the same species
which are protected under UK legislation. The European protection,
however, prohibits the collecting or cutting of certain wild
plants, in addition to the picking, uprooting, destroying, selling
or transporting of such wild plants.
In Great Britain, the appropriate authority responsible for
the issue of licences for scientific or conservation purposes, or
for photography, is the statutory nature conservation agency,
(Natural England (formally English Nature) in England, Scottish
Natural Heritage in Scotland and the Countryside Council for Wales
in Wales). The appropriate authority for licences relating to the
sale of protected plants is the appropriate Minister, and for
licences relating to public health and safety, the preventing the
spread of disease, or preventing serious damage to livestock,
crops, growing timber, other property or fisheries is the
agricultural Minister. In Northern Ireland, the Department of
Environment and the Environment and Heritage Service are
responsible for the granting of all licences, in relation to wild
plants.
In Great Britain, the appropriate Minister may add or remove
plants to or from the Schedule when it is appropriate to do so.
Every five years, the Joint Nature Conservation Committee is
required to advise the Secretary of State on whether any species of
plant should be added to, or removed from, the Schedule in relation
to Great Britain. In Northern Ireland, the power to add or remove
any species of plants to or from the relevant Schedule lies with
the Department of the Environment, who must consult the Council for
Nature Conservation and the Countryside before changes can be
made.
The legislative provisions in Great Britain for the protection
of wild plants are contained primarily in the Wildlife and
Countryside Act, 1981, Section 13, with protected wild plants
listed on Schedule 8, and the licensing and enforcement provisions
in Sections 16-27. In England and Wales, enforcement provisions
were extended by the Countryside Rights of Access Act, 2000,
Section 81 and Schedule 12. In Scotland, the provisions were
amended by Section 50 and Schedule 6 of the Nature Conservation
(Scotland) Act 2004. In Northern Ireland, the legal provisions are
similar to those in Great Britain and are covered by the Wildlife
(Northern Ireland) Order, 1985 (Amended 1995), Articles 14 and 18,
and the protected wild plants are listed on Schedule 8. The
protection of European plant species in Great Britain is covered by
the Conservation (Natural Habitats, & c.) Regulations, 1994,
Part II, Regulations 42-46, with the wild plant species listed on
Schedule 4 and, in Northern Ireland, the provisions for European
species are laid down in the Conservation (Natural Habitats, etc.)
Regulations (NI) 1995, Part II, Regulations 37-41, and the wild
plant species are listed on Schedule 4.