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Wildlife
- Close
- - We protect wildlife in Britain and around the world by bringing our most threatened species back from the brink of extinction. We do this through ground-breaking research, practical conservation and education, all with the help of our supporters.
Wild places
- Close
- - Some habitats contain such a richness of life that we need to protect them at all odds. We are working to preserve ancient woodlands, orchards and wood pastures and parklands, as well as the countless species they support.
What we do
- Close
- - Everything we do is based on scientific evidence. We gather this through surveys, which you can take part in, and by awarding research grants to the most inspiring scientists worldwide. This evidence guides our conservation efforts and is shared through our events and publications.
Who we are
- Close
- - People’s Trust for Endangered Species was set up in 1977 to save our wildlife. We are governed by a board of volunteer trustees and our team of staff are passionate about protecting endangered species and places.
Success stories
- Close
- - We strive to bring our most threatened species in the UK and around the world back from the brink of extinction. Our successes come from ground-breaking research, practical conservation and education, all with the help of our supporters.
Get involved
- Close
- - There are so many ways you can help save endangered species. Fancy taking part in a survey, joining us on a wildlife event or becoming a regular supporter?
Shop
- Close
- - Support our work in our shop with a range of charity gifts, home-ware, cards and more. 100% of the profits go directly to help wildlife both in the UK an overseas.
Donate
- Close
- - There is nothing natural about the alarming rate at which we are losing animals and their homes. It is absolutely avoidable. We can stop the loss of our wildlife – but we need your support. You can act now by choosing to give to our cause. Thank you.

Home // Key species and habitats // Stag beetles // Planning and stag beetles

Planning and stag beetles

Stag beetles are legally protected from sale in the UK under Schedule 5 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. However, it’s not illegal to kill or disturb stag beetles or to destroy their habitat. Stag beetles are classed as a priority species, under section 40 & 41 of the NERC act which places a duty on all public authorities, including local planning authorities, to consider biodiversity in their work.

We do not normally object to individual planning applications involving stag beetles as they are not a legally protected species and objections along those lines are often disregarded.

As the presence of stag beetles alone will not be sufficient to prevent a successful planning application, it’s better to convince the developer to make modifications to their plans than to fight a losing battle against the development as a whole. These could include:

retaining old trees, stumps and dead wood
creating log piles
creating log pyramids