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<p>Like all wild birds, the bittern is protected by the Wildlife and Countryside Act
1981. Under this Act it is an offence to kill or injure any wild bird; take, damage
or destroy the nest of any wild bird while that nest is in use or being built; and
take or destroy an egg of any wild bird.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Bittern habitat
is also protected and improved through being designated and managed as Special Protection
Areas under the EU Habitats Directive, and as Sites of Special Scientific Interest.</p><p>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>In 1994 Natural England (then English Nature) initiated a Bittern
Recovery Programme. By 2012 restoration of approximately 2500 hectares of bittern
reed-bed habitat at 80 sites across the UK had been achieved. This resulted in an
increase of bittern numbers, from a 1997 low of 11 males to a high of 140 males in
2014.</p><p> </p>
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