Wales moves closer to gamebird release licensing

Call for evidence launched

Wales is a step closer to a potential licensing regime for gamebird release after the Welsh Government announced an independent call for evidence today (17 March).

Huw Irranca-Davies MS, deputy first minister and cabinet secretary for climate change and rural affairs, said gamebird releasing, when not undertaken responsibly, could place additional pressure on some of Wales’s most sensitive environmental sites.

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Universities to lead research

Environment Platform Wales, working across Welsh universities, will now lead an evidence-gathering process to better understand gamebird release and whether a tightening of regulation may be required to mitigate any impact it has on environmental sites.

The call for evidence comes just days after Reform UK announced its manifesto pledge to ensure no ban or licensing scheme is imposed on gamebird releasing in Wales ahead of the Senedd election on 7 May.

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Sector response

BASC has vowed to respond robustly to the call for evidence. The organisation’s director for Wales, Steve Griffiths, said: “It is vital that this review fully recognises that well-managed gamebird releasing already delivers significant benefits for biodiversity, habitat management and rural communities across Wales.

“BASC will engage constructively with the process, but any future proposals must be based on robust, balanced evidence and not on assumptions. While we recognise the importance of an evidence-led review, BASC will use every tool at our disposal to strongly challenge any assumptions that fail to reflect the positive environmental role of shooting.”