What the action involves
This action’s aim is to control the population of invasive non-native edible dormice.
The purpose is to reduce the effect of edible dormice on, for example, tree bark damage, fruit crops, and hole-nesting birds. This supports habitat and species recovery.
What you must do
Your Natural England adviser or Forestry Commission woodland officer will assess your land. They’ll work with you to adapt and agree the activities you must do to achieve this action’s aim. All mandatory activities will be set out in your agreement document.
To get paid for this action, you must:
- set up or identify monitoring sites and carry out baseline monitoring as outlined in your species management plan in year 1
- carry out agreed levels of culling set out in your species management plan
- carry out habitat impact assessments in years 1, 5 and 10 of your agreement
When to do it
You must do this action each year of its duration.
Evidence to keep
You must keep evidence to show what you have done to complete this action. If it’s not clear that you have done this action in a way that could reasonably be expected to achieve its aim, the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) may ask for this evidence.
You must supply the evidence if they ask for it, including:
- habitat impact assessment reports
- any bank statements, receipted invoices, consents or permissions connected with the work
- evidence of culling activity and cull numbers supported by photographs, when requested
Where you can do it
You can do this action on eligible land where invasive edible dormouse are present.
You can only do this action if you have a species management plan agreed with Natural England or Forestry Commission.
You should do this action on the same land as a habitat creation or management action. You must get approval from your Natural England adviser or Forestry Commission woodland officer to do this action if you’re not doing another habitat creation or management action on site.
Eligible land
You can do this action on land that’s:
- an eligible land type
- registered with an eligible land cover on your digital maps
- declared with a land use code which is compatible with the eligible land cover
Available area
Total or part of the available area in the land parcel.
Rotational or static
This action is static. This means you must do it on the same location each year of the action’s duration.
Consents and permissions
To apply for this action, you’ll need:
- a species management plan agreed with the Forestry Commission and Natural England (if your application includes non-woodland habitats)
- consent from Natural England for any activity on land designated as a site of special scientific interest (SSSI)
- Scheduled Monument Consent from Historic England for any work on scheduled monuments
- a wildlife licence – Edible dormice: licence to trap them (CL02)
You may also need to get other wildlife licences from Natural England if your activities affect a protected species or their habitat.
All archaeological and historic features (including scheduled monuments) are identified in your Historic Environment Farm Environment Record (HEFER).
If you’re a tenant, it’s your responsibility to check whether your tenancy agreement allows you to complete what’s required in the actions you choose. You may need your landlord’s consent.
Capital grants that support it
If you need to complete an implementation plan, species management plan or a feasibility study before you apply, you can apply for funding through capital grants plans funding.
You can also apply for capital items to help you achieve the action’s aims. Your Natural England adviser will discuss eligible capital items with you.
