Rare and threatened species
Under the definitions in the Nature Conservation Act 1992 (NCA), "wildlife" includes animals and plants. The NCA prescribes five classes of protected wildlife, as described below:
Presumed extinct wildlife
(Schedule 1) |
- has not been sighted in the wild for a period critical to its life cycle despite thorough searching.
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Endangered wildlife
(Schedule 2) |
- is in danger of extinction; or
- is unlikely to survive if threatening processes continue (i.e. its numbers have been reduced to a critical level, or its habitat has been so drastically reduced that it may be in immediate danger of extinction); or
- has not been sighted in the wild for a period critical to its life cycle although no thorough search has been made for it.
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Vulnerable wildlife
(Schedule 3) |
- its survival in the wild is vulnerable if threatening processes continue (i.e. the population is decreasing because of threatening processes); or
- the population has been seriously depleted and its protection is not secured; or
- the population, while abundant, is at risk because of threatening processes; or
- the population is low or localised, or dependent on limited habitat that is at risk.
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Rare wildlife
(Schedule 4) |
- is not threatened and has a relatively large population but in a restricted range; or
- has a smaller population thinly spread over a wide range.
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Common wildlife
(Schedule 5) |
- is common or abundant; and
- is likely to survive in the wild.
Native wildlife may be described as common wildlife even though the wildlife is the subject of a threatening process.
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Last updated: 05 June 2006
