
1 

(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (England and Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2016.
(2) These Regulations come into force on 6th April 2016 and extend to England and Wales.
2 

(1) The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 is amended as follows.
(2) In section 1 (protection of wild birds, their nests and eggs), after subsection (3) insert the following subsection—“
(3ZA) A person shall not be guilty of an offence under subsection (2)(b) if the person shows that the egg, or the part of the egg, was in any person’s possession or control before 28th September 1982.”.
(3) In section 27 (interpretation of Part 1), in subsection (1), in the definition of “the Wild Birds Directive” for “Council Directive 79/409/EEC on the conservation of wild birds” substitute “Directive 2009/147/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 November 2009 on the conservation of wild birds”.
Rory Stewart
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
3rd February 2016
Carl Sargeant
Minister for Natural Resources One of the Welsh Ministers
2nd February 2016