SPA gamebird licences: 20 granted from 37 applications in 2026

Natural England granted 20 of the 37 applications it received this year for individual licences to release gamebirds on or near England’s special protection areas (SPAs), according to the regulator’s autumn stakeholder update, reported by the Moorland Association. The association warns that the figures understate the scheme’s real effect, because shoots deterred from applying never show up in them.

Where were this year’s licences granted?

Of the licences issued, 65% sat on or near the North York Moors SPA, which accounted for 90% of the pheasants and 99% of the red-legged partridges licensed for release on English SPAs this year. One exceptional licence was granted on the Salisbury Plain SPA, for up to 50 pheasants from 1 October. Conditions imposed earlier in the year over avian influenza, which would have delayed releases to 1 September, were lifted in early August after the disease risk fell.

The applications that were never made

No applications at all were received for SPAs where a delayed-release condition to 1 October was likely, a pattern the association reads as shoots concluding the terms on offer made releasing unworkable. “A licence which is never applied for will never appear in refusal statistics,” wrote Andrew Gilruth, the association’s chief executive.

The association is collecting examples from members of applications never made, across gamebird releasing, burning and access restrictions, to put to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) call for evidence on gamebird releasing and moorland management.

What happens next?

Natural England begins planning the 2027 SPA licensing round this autumn, and shoots on or near protected sites should watch for the conditions it proposes. Defra’s call for evidence closes on 1 November.