By Jeremy Sabel and Matt Heydon Natural England’s Species Recovery & Reintroductions Team
Projects involving the release of white stork Ciconia ciconia capture the public imagination. If fairy tales are to be believed, white storks bring good luck and deliver babies.
In England, we have an establishing population of white stork at Knepp in West Sussex and other projects actively releasing or planning releases of white storks and black storks Ciconia negra. However, these projects confront us with some challenging questions. Are releases legal? Is there any evidence either of these species were ever native breeding birds? Should we be releasing white stork, black stork and other bird species into the wild in England?
This blog sets out Natural England’s current thinking on this topic.
A white stork released in Devon, 2025. Credit: Richie Moore The legal baselineThe law includes provisions to prevent the release into the wild of certain plants and animals which may cause ecological, environmental, or socio-economic harm. To achieve this, the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 prohibits the introduction into the wild of any animal that ‘is of a kind which is not ordinarily resident in and is not a regular visitor to Great Britain in a wild state’ or ‘is included in Part I of Schedule 9’. We explain our interpretations of ‘ordinarily resident’ and ‘regular visitor’ later in this blog.
White stork is a regular visitor with an establishing population due to releases. It is not listed on Schedule 9 so no licence is currently required to release white stork in England.
Natural England considers that black stork is neither ordinarily resident in, nor a regular visitor to Britain in a wild state. This means that a licence is required to release black stork in England.
Are these birds native? What does the evidence tell us?There is no definition of native species in English law, but Natural England published the definition that it uses in a previous blog. There is one breeding record of white stork in Britain, from Scotland in 1416. Prior to recent releases there were no English breeding records of white stork and none of black stork. Both species are rare in archaeological finds, and at Mediaeval sites there is just one record of white stork despite numerous other wild bird species’ remains. There are records of imports of ‘storks’ from Calais in the 16th Century. There is very little evidence of there ever being a sustained presence of white stork or black stork as English breeding species or as regular migrants. By our definition, neither stork species was ever a native breeding bird.
Black stork. Credit: Marek SzczepanekWhat does best practice guidance tell us?
All species introductions or conservation translocations should follow the Reintroductions and Conservation Translocations Code for England. This requires among other things:
A clear conservation need A detailed feasibility study Robust risk assessment, including appropriate sourcing, welfare and biosecurity measures Engagement with stakeholders, experts and the public Maximising long-term success through adaptive management and monitoring A viable exit strategy if a self-sustaining population cannot be achievedShould we introduce white or black stork?
Natural England recognises the value of white stork as a visible and charismatic species in engaging people with nature but releases of this species are not a priority for us.
The white stork is a generalist predator of a variety of species including invertebrates, small mammals, amphibians, reptiles and fish. Any project should consider both the impact of introducing this new predator on other species at the proposed release location, and the ability of the habitat to support the needs of the released storks in the long-term.
Any releases of white storks on a protected site will likely require consent from Natural England to ensure features of the site will not be negatively impacted.
In the absence of evidence that black stork is a native species, there is a presumption against granting any licence to introduce this species.
What about other bird species?
The release of any species that is neither ‘ordinarily resident’ nor a ‘regular visitor’ will require a licence from Natural England.
Natural England interprets the legal terms ‘ordinarily resident’ and ‘regular visitor’ as the predictable presence of breeding, non-breeding and passage populations (not just individuals), within the species’ occupied range. This interpretation excludes species whose presence cannot be predicted at any given time or location. These species are considered as vagrants and/or scarce migrants, and their release is prohibited in England except under a licence issued by Natural England.
Natural England remains open to considering new evidence as to the status of any species including changes resulting from climate change or other factors.
Further advice
Anyone considering introducing any species should submit a conservation translocation scoping form. Advice is available from Natural England speciesrecoveryreintroduction@naturalengland.org.uk.
seen at 10:27, 8 May in Natural England.