General licences permit ‘authorised persons’ to carry out actions that would otherwise be illegal. They cover certain types of activity relating to birds, such as preserving public health or air safety, and preventing the spread of disease. General licences cover situations that are regarded as relatively commonplace and where there is unlikely to be any great conservation impact.
General licences avoid the need for people to apply for individual licences for these specific circumstances. General licences are still subject to strict conditions, and abuse of them or failure to comply with the conditions could constitute an offence
