Consultation opens on new protections for seals and hares in Wales

Nation.Cymru staff

A consultation has opened on plans to introduce new legal protections for seals and hares in Wales.

The Welsh Government is seeking views on proposals for a Wild Animal Welfare (Wales) Bill, including how the measures would work in practice and their potential impact on businesses, land managers and people using the countryside and coast.

The consultation opened on Monday and will run until midnight on October 19.

The proposed legislation, announced earlier this month, would make it an offence to intentionally or recklessly disturb seals and introduce a statutory close season for hares between February 1 and September 30 each year.

During that period it would be illegal to intentionally or recklessly kill, injure or take a hare, subject to exemptions and a proposed licensing system.

The Welsh Government says the measures are intended to address gaps in existing wildlife legislation and reduce avoidable harm to wild animals.

Cabinet Minister for Rural Resilience and Sustainability Llyr Gruffydd said when the proposals were announced: “Although these proposals concern different species and environments, they are united by a common objective: reducing avoidable harm to wild animals and reflecting our commitment to maintaining high standards of animal welfare in Wales.

“These targeted measures will enable us to act now on clear and specific animal welfare concerns in relation to seals and hare.

“They sit alongside wider work to bring together, simplify and modernise wildlife legislation in Wales, so that it is more accessible, coherent and effective.”

There is currently no specific offence of intentionally or recklessly disturbing a seal in Wales.

Wales has an internationally important grey seal population, with major breeding sites and places where seals come ashore to rest around Pembrokeshire, Cardigan Bay and Anglesey.

Concerns have been raised about people approaching seals too closely while kayaking, paddleboarding, coasteering, boating, taking photographs or using drones.

Disturbance can cause seals to leave resting sites or trigger panic responses, while pups can be particularly vulnerable if they become separated from their mothers.

Under the proposals, the new offence would apply wherever seals are found in Wales rather than being restricted to designated “haul-out” sites where seals come ashore to rest.

Guidance accompanying the legislation is expected to advise people to remain at least 100 metres from seals in normal circumstances, although that distance would not be written into law.

Whether an offence had been committed would depend on the circumstances, including the behaviour of the person involved and the response of the seals. Accidental or unavoidable interactions where reasonable care had been taken would not be targeted.

The consultation is also seeking views on the proposed close season for hares.

Unlike other game species, there is currently no statutory close season for hares in Wales, meaning they can legally be killed, injured or taken throughout the year, including during their breeding season.

The Welsh Government says this can result in pregnant or nursing females being killed and dependent leverets being left without maternal care. It says the proposal is based on animal welfare rather than concerns about hare populations.

The proposed February 1 to September 30 close season would cover the principal breeding period and mirror the dates already used in Scotland.

Licences could still allow hares to be killed during the close season in certain circumstances, including where they were causing serious damage to crops.

The consultation is seeking evidence on the potential costs and benefits of both measures, their impact on land managers, coastal users, businesses, tourism and commercial fishing, and any unintended consequences.

Impact assessment

An accompanying impact assessment says the overall impact on rural people, businesses and communities is expected to be minimal.

However, the Welsh Government acknowledges there are still evidence gaps over the scale of seal disturbance in Wales, the extent of hare shooting during the proposed close season, likely demand for licences and potential enforcement requirements.

Responses to the consultation will be considered before ministers decide whether, and in what form, to take the legislation forward.

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