Crested eggs - legal to move?

I started breeding newts about 10 years ago from eggs supplied by NewtsRus. This year I've had about 40 smooth and about 10 great crested return to my ponds.

By chance I discovered a few years ago that what they really like to lay their eggs on is garden fleece. I put a couple of lead weights on the bottom and a piece of wood at the top to create a vertical piece of fleece for them - it's soon covered in eggs! I usually remove some of the eggs to bring them on in clean water etc to improve the hatch rate then put the juneniles back in the pond.

As I have so many eggs this year, far more than the pond will support really if 50% hatch out, I thought I'd give some away to help create colonies elsewhere, but - and this is the point of this posting - I would like some advice on the legality of taking crested eggs from the pond and offering them round. I guess it boils down to whether the protection extends to eggs.

Any advice appreciated.

IMO any protection would absolutely apply to the eggs. You could check your state's code of regulations. In Massachusetts,USA it reads like this:

3.05: Hunting, Fishing, Trapping, and Taking of Reptiles and Amphibians in all the Counties of Massachusetts.

(3) No person shall disturb or harass or, except as authorized in a special educational or scientific permit from the Director, shall hunt, fish, trap or take by any means any of the following species or their eggs or young:...

Legal protection for crested newts in the UK does include eggs. If the animals in your pond could be considered to be 'in the wild' (i.e. if your garden doesn't have newt-proof fencing on all sides), then it's illegal to disturb the newts or the eggs in any way.

If you breed them in aquariums from captive-bred animals then obviously you're fine giving away or selling the eggs.

The only legal way to move Great crested Newts in the UK is to under a licence from Natural England (or the equivalent devolved organisations!).

It sounds like you have a surplus beyond requirements to sustain your population but if you want to offer them round you need to get a licence like the one I understand your original supplier had.

You need to sort out if your population is wild or not, if it is then moving eggs into a tank, even if it improves hatching is illegal without a licence. On the whole getting a licence may make life a lot easier.

oceanblue said:

if you want to offer them round you need to get a licence like the one I understand your original supplier had.

Click to expand...

The original supplier (Charles Snell, 'newts-r-us') doesn't need a licence to sell them, as he only offers captive-bred stock. Natural England are extremely unlikely to grant a licence to collect crested newt eggs for
captive rearing, redistribution or sale.