Yup. It is illegal to intentionally kill, injure, or trade in (which includes selling, bartering, swapping etc) the things. There're (as far as I could find - looking at a variety of sites) no laws against keeping one. All lizards and snakes in the UK are protected species, but there are (so far as I could find out) only two lizards that are under a "must to touch/handle" level of preotection, and neither of them is slow-worm (I think one is a sand lizard, but can't recall the other).
Dug more. I think you're safe; Anyone wishing to maintain UK species of reptile or amphibian in captivity must be aware that the four rarest species are totally protected, that no species can be offered for sale without a licence, and that the adder cannot be kept without a dangerous wild animals licence. In addition, if animals are to be collected from the wild, it is an act of theft to take an animal without the landowner's permission.
Comments 3
Reply
I did do some research on the subject :)
Reply
And the official Law website - just in case you need it http://www.defra.gov.uk/paw/publications/law/contents.htm
Reply
Leave a comment