Pigeons in, ducks out – Defra moves to shorten the quarry list

Sudden consultation

The Government has proposed sweeping changes to wild bird shooting in a consultation published this week, offering shooters something with one hand while tightening restrictions with the other.

Published on 23 March and covering England, Scotland and Wales, the proposals would make recreational woodpigeon shooting explicitly lawful for the first time since the early 1990s, by adding the species to the quarry list with a defined open season. Currently, woodpigeon shooting can only be carried out legally under general licences issued for crop protection purposes. 

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Woodpigeon added to quarry list

The woodpigeon open season would run from 1 September to 31 January. Critically, general licences permitting year-round shooting for crop protection would remain in place and unchanged; the close season affects only recreational shooting or shooting for food, not the pest control that farmers and land managers depend on to protect crops from one of the most damaging avian pests of arable farmland. The NFU has estimated that without control, damage to oilseed rape crops in East Anglia alone would exceed £45 million a year.

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Wider restrictions raise concern

Across the rest of the quarry list, however, the direction is firmly towards restriction, prompting some in the sector to see the package as the latest in what they describe as a pattern of death by a thousand cuts. Those participating in rural traditions already face an anticipated consultation on making it tougher to get a shotgun certificate, as well as licensing the practice of releasing gamebirds in England and Wales – not to mention peripheral concerns such as a potential ban on trail hunting. Now they want to reduce the list of available quarry.

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Woodcock season faces major cut

Woodcock faces the sharpest cut in the proposals. The season in England and Wales, which currently opens on 1 October, would be pushed back to 1 December – a loss of two months. In Scotland, where the season opens on 1 September, the proposed start date is 15 November. The stated aim is to reduce the risk of shooting resident British breeding birds before the main influx of continental migrants arrives. However, the GWCT has already been promoting voluntary restraint before December, so the proposed legal change would only formalise what many in the sector are already doing.

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Waders and wildfowl targeted

Two other waders, golden plover and common snipe, are proposed for removal from the Welsh quarry list. In England and Scotland, snipe’s close season would be extended so that shooting could not begin until 30 September rather than 12 August.

Among wildfowl, pochard would be removed from the quarry list across all three nations. European white-fronted geese would be removed in England and Wales, having already been taken off the schedule in Scotland. Goldeneye would be removed from the quarry list in England and Wales, with its close season extended in Scotland. Pintail faces removal from the list in England, with its close season extended in Scotland and Wales. 

Coot, a waterbird of the rail family, would also be removed from the Welsh quarry list.

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Sector questions evidence base

BASC’s position is that the restrictions in this latest announcement from Defra will not achieve what the department intends. Research cited within the consultation itself concluded that current harvests of several species under review fall within sustainable limits. In many cases, the same research attributes population declines primarily to climate change, habitat loss and shifts in migratory range rather than shooting pressure. On that basis, BASC argues, curtailing the British season would do nothing for the birds.

The organisation’s deputy director of conservation, Dr Marnie Lovejoy, said the organisation would respond robustly. “The sector is already delivering sustainable shooting and has taken action based on evidence and clear, best-practice recommendations. The removal of species from the quarry list and the shortening of shooting seasons would do nothing for conservation,” she said. 

“BASC strongly supports adaptive, evidence-led species management through self-regulation. We oppose blunt legislative bans, particularly where UK harvest is not driving declines.”

GWCT’s Dr Andrew Hoodless said game management can be an important driver for the privately funded conservation of red-listed species. “Any changes in regulation should be based on scientific evidence or risk being counterproductive and causing further declines,” he said. Countryside Alliance chief executive Tim Bonner echoed that position. “It is perfectly legitimate to review the status of species and when and whether they can be hunted. We do, however, have concerns that not all the proposals are logical and evidence-based.”

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Consultation timeline

BASC and the Countryside Alliance suggested members may wish to await guidance before responding to the consultation, which closes at midnight on 17 May 2026.