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ú8,400 fine for flouting newt law |
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badgerboy
New Member Joined: 15 Dec 2006 Location: United Kingdom Status: Offline Points: 9 |
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Andy
Although I understand its just your wishful thinking, the law currently does not allow for your proposal to go ahead. Even if it did, the site would likely having full planning consent and a licence would already have been issued or be applied for from NE so bottom line is that the site would be developed in time. Why then wait until it had become a much better habitiat before effectively destroying it again? Much better to argue the case for an increase to the maximum sentence which is currently ú5000 and or six months in prison. So even if you were the judge, you would be limited to three zeros at the end of anything and would have to take in to account early guilty pleas etc. |
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Badgerboy
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badgerboy
New Member Joined: 15 Dec 2006 Location: United Kingdom Status: Offline Points: 9 |
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Another prosecution. NE press release:
Construction company fined for damaging resting place of newts 8 March 2010 On 8 March 2010 at Lowestoft Magistrates Court, Barnes Construction Limited of Ransomes Europark, Ipswich, was fined ?700 with ?200 costs and a victim surcharge of ?15 after pleading guilty to damaging or destroying a resting place of great crested newts at the construction site for a new Travelodge in Leisureway, Lowestoft. The owners of the land at Potters Kiln had employed professional consultant ecologists to do a wildlife survey and apply to Natural England for a licence to trap and move any great crested newts to a new reserve set up specially to take them on land immeadiately adjoining the site. This land is now owned and managed by the Suffolk Wildlife Trust. As part of the licenced trapping programme, a special amphibian-proof fence was erected around the entire site to help catch the newts but also to prevent them from returning to the site once they had been transferred to the adjacent site. Natural England officers visited the site on 23 May 2008 following a complaint to find that the fence had been removed in some areas and damaged in others. This would allow newts to re-entre the site and potentially be killed or injured by the construction work which had already started on the site. The company pleaded guilty to damaging or destroying a resting place of great crested newts under Regulation 39 (1) (d) of the Conservation (Natural habitats, &c) Regulations 1994. Following the verdict, Natural England Wildlife Enforncement Specialist Paul Cantwell, said: "This case highlights the need for construction companies to comply with the law in relation to protected species. In this particular case, the defendant failed to ask any questions of the site owner in relation to protected species and failed to ascertain the purpose of the amphibian fencing. Had it done so, they may not have ended up with a criminal conviction today. The aggravating feature in this case was that they were told by the Suffolk Wildlife Trust, the landowner's ecologist, the Poilce and Natural England to stop works because of the risk to newts but failed to heed these warnings and carried on." A spokesperson for Suffolk Wildlife Trust added: "We are pleased that the law protecting great crested newts, which are protected at both a national and European level, has been proven to work. Great crested newts are legally protected from trade, transport, possession, capture, injury, killing or disturbance. Their habitat also receives protection from disturbance." |
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Badgerboy
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Liz Heard
Senior Member Joined: 27 Apr 2010 Location: South West Status: Offline Points: 1429 |
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hi all, depressing this.
the defences case is pitiful and its clear that future fines were assimilated into not-quite bob the builders costings. the "this is not a man who..." speech is nauseating and so unconvincing as to be laughable if the joke wasnt on us. so is the attempt to paint black white. angel McHugh my foot. he knew what he was doing. i didnt know tadpoles could jump OUT of water either. ill look out for that. thanks herp barrister! im sure everyone agrees penalties are way too low and presently NO DETERRENT. dig a pond and apply pressure. we need more weapons. ben |
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Suzi
Senior Member Joined: 06 Apr 2005 Location: United Kingdom Status: Offline Points: 1025 |
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Whilst it is all very laudable to prosecute these people I think that as big, or bigger, a villains are local councils, reserve managers, wildlife maintenance organisations etc. They are gradually chipping away at our wildlife by their misguided actions. I could quote you examples, but then everyone on here could!
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Suz
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