Description
What does the course cover?
This course focuses on:
- the background knowledge and understanding you will need to bring to the role, and
- the particular practical skills required to safely and competently fly birds of prey for bird control purposes.
Topics include:
- The legal aspects of bird control in the UK
- Licensing of bird control activities
- Reports and returns required by law
- Alternative abatement methods not requiring licensing
- Insurance requirements for bird control activities
- Objectives of abatement activities
- Non-lethal deterrence
- Choice of abatement methods
- Record keeping
- Avian pests and their natural history
- Definition of avian pest
- The harm caused by avian pests
- Common pest species encountered in the territory
- The natural history of common pests and the impact on abatement operations
- Less common pests in the territory and how to deal with them
- Welfare of species during abatement
- Welfare law and its implications for abatement
- Choice of raptor species for the operation
- Hazards and the mitigation of risk
- Minimise harm to target and non-target species
- Care of raptors during abatement operations
- First aid techniques
- Advanced telemetry
Certification
Certification is available at two levels:-
- Partial Certification (theory only)
- Full Certification (Theory and practice)
