Two new general licences have been released that allow the trapping of stoats for the purpose of conserving wild birds and to prevent damage to livestock.
The licences, GL38 and GL39, permits farmers and gamekeepers to trap Eurasian stoat for the purposes of preventing serious damage to livestock, including poultry and reared gamebirds.
Farmers and other users are only allowed to use traps approved under the Agreement on International Humane Trapping Standards (AIHTS).
The Countryside Alliance welcomed Natural England's announcement as 'workable, but not ideal'.
Two weeks ago, Natural England produced drafts of the licences that were 'completely unfit for purpose', the rural body said.
Concerns, along with those of a number of other stakeholders, in particular the National Gamekeeper's Organisation, were raised in letters to the Defra Secretary.
However, all those concerns have been addressed in the new licences, the Countryside Alliance said.
Sam Carlisle, the group's shooting campaign manager, said: "There will be relief across the countryside that gamekeepers and others can continue to lawfully trap stoats and conserve wild birds and livestock at the most critical time of the year.
"Going forward we will continue to work with Defra and Natural England to iron out any remaining concerns and ensure that future licences are published within a timescale that allows proper and sufficient scrutiny".
Natural England has published the general licences for Stoats as follows: GL38 To trap stoats to conserve wild birds, and GL39 To trap stoats to prevent serious damage to livestock.
