Ecolaw are pleased to announce that they are now contributors to the website: http://www.greenbuildnews.co.uk/home Check out our articles under the banner "Environmental Legislation". New articles will be added as the months continue. - Click here for more information

Water vole legislation increased in Wales As from 12th August 2008, legal protection for water voles within Wales will increase, under Schedule 5 of the WCA, 1981. The legal protection of water voles in Wales is now equivalent to England, where the updates came into force in April 2008. Until now, legislation has only protected the water voles places of shelter. The new legislation will give water voles the maximum protection under the Wildlife and Countryside Act, 1981, making it an illegal offence to kill, injure, take from the wild or sell a water vole. The maximum penalty under this Act is a fine of £5000 or 6 months imprisonment Other species included in the increased protection under schedule 5 of the WCA, 1981 include the angel shark, roman snail, spiny seahorse and short-snouted seahorse. - Click here for more information

Chytrid fungus in Amphibians Chytridiomycosis, or chytrid as it is commonly called, is a potentially - deadly disease which affects all native amphibians including frogs, toads and newts. It is caused by the fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis and affects the cells of keratinised skin. - Click here for more information

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New additions to Ecolaw database - Click here for more information

Ospreys in Wales and Bee-eaters in Herefordshire! - Click here for more information

Additions to Ecolaw pages - Click here for more information

Licences for Water Voles? - Click here for more information

Norway, Iceland and Japan seek majority in International Whaling Commission to commence commercial Whale fishing. - Click here for more information

www.EcoLaw.org.uk enters into Beta testing phase! After many months of development time, we are now ready for our Beta testers to get their teeth into the site. We envisage the Beta testing taking up most if not all of March. Keep a lookout for the full Ecolaw web site launch in April! - Click here for more information

'Under Threat - Rare bird populations declining across Wales' Daily Post 19/01/2005 Pictured: Farmland birds like Goldfinch and Tree Sparrow are now dependant on bird tables for food. - Click here for more information