BASC criticise Welsh general licence changes

BASC has opposed the Canada goose proposal because their population in Wales is limited in number and distribution.

By Barnaby Dracup

Friday, 06 November 2009

Two of the Welsh Assembly Government’s proposed changes to the General Licences have been rebuffed by BASC.

BASC has criticised the Welsh Assembly Government’s controversial plan to add Canada geese to the pest bird list and change the law on Larsen trapping as part of its consultation on the General Licences, which closes on 24 November.

BASC has opposed the Canada goose proposal because the British Trust for Ornithology’s Bird Atlas maps and Wetland Bird Surveys show that their population in Wales is limited in number and distribution compared with England.

“There have been relatively few licence applications to address problems in Wales and they are a valued quarry species of goose on Welsh estuaries,” said a BASC spokesman.

BASC also added it is unaware of any enforcement issues pertaining to cage traps that would make it necessary for the police to administer an identification tagging system.

“This move would introduce a huge and unnecessary administrative burden on the thousands of Welsh cage trap operators and the two wildlife crime officers for Wales that would have to process such a system,” he added.

BASC’s policy development manager, Conor O’Gorman, urged Shooting UK readers to respond to the consultation: “A briefing is available on BASC’s website to help Welsh shooters get their views across on this consultation. It is worth noting no changes can be finalised until at least 1 July 2010, to allow sufficient time for communication of such changes. This is a precedent BASC lobbied for and welcomes.”