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> Home > Out and About > Collecting: Increased legislative safeguards for Scotland’s rocks fossils and landformsThe Nature Conservation (Scotland) Act 2004 which was designed to increase the protection of Scotland’s natural heritage, including its rocks, fossils and landforms, came into force in late November 2004. The Act strengthens the laws on wildlife crime and modernises the system of designating and protecting Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs). The Act makes it an offence for anyone to intentionally or recklessly damage an SSSI. This is an important advance from the previous legislation (Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 [as amended]), which only applied to operations and activities carried out or permitted by the owners and occupiers of an SSSI and not those of third parties undertaken without the owners permission.
Collector damage at a fossil fish locality in Caithness. A rock saw has been used to remove fossil specimens. The new legislation will help protect such sites. |
