Environment secretary Theresa Villers has launched a 12 week public survey as part of a planned review of general licences to manage wild birds in England. What is the purpose of the general licence review? Defra says the aim of the review: ” … is to ensure the licensing system…
News
The EU is moving towards an outright ban on lead shot
The European Union has taken a major step towards a full ban on lead shot. Wetlands The EU has been in the process of implementing a ban on the use of lead over wetlands for some time and a move to restrict the use of lead in other environments has…
Labour launches new attack on grouse shooting
The Glorious Twelfth – the traditional start of the grouse shooting season – has been marked by a new attack from Labour on the sport. The party has stated that there are “viable alternatives”, like simulated shooting and that protecting the rare moorland environment is a priority. “The costs of…
Wild Justice abandons latest campaign on general licences … for now
On 18th July the group Wild Justice announced a new threat against the gameshooting community, saying that gamebird releases ought to be regulated. The Leigh Day website (lawyers for Wild Justice) advised that Defra had until 31st July 2019 to response to the Pre-Action Protocol (PAP) letter sent on behalf of…
The results of this year’s Savills Game and Conservation Benchmarking survey may surprise you
So how have driven game shoots performed through the 2018/19 season? Is it good news for shooting? Savills and the GWCT collected data from 88 UK shoots and this is what they discovered. Game and Conservation Survey 2019 Facts and figures Over 1800 days were shot, more than a million…
What’s on at the Game Fair 2019?
People have all sorts of reasons to go to the Game Fair. Perhaps it’s where you catch up with old friends over a pint or where you try out before buying some new kit you’ve read about. Maybe you make a beeline for the clay line to satisfy your competitive…
Exclusive: Government proposes to tighten firearms licensing
The Home Office has today contacted Shooting Times with news of a consultation on statutory guidance for the police issuing firearms certificates. The Government department has signed an agreement with the British Medical Association (BMA) to improve co-operation between the police and GPs. The independent police inspectorate, HMICFRS, previously found…
New attack on shooting community launched by Wild Justice
In the five weeks since Defra announced three new general licences (GL34, GL35 and GL36), the campaign group Wild Justice, which consists of scientists Dr Mark Avery and Dr Ruth Tingay, plus Chris Packham, the TV presenter and naturalist, has been preparing its latest campaign to hold the shooting community…
General licence update
A new set of general licences has been issued by DEFRA, following the outcry over their revocation by Natural England after pressure from campaign group Wild Justice. The new licences have been welcomed by shooting and countryside organisations but problems remain over shooting on protected sites. The move marks a…
Exclusive – Sporting Gun asks Dr Mark Avery the questions we want answered
Seven weeks after Natural England revoked the general licences GL04, GL05 and GL06 on April 25, following a legal challenge from Wild Justice, the wildlife campaign group has submitted a further challenge. This latest legal challenge has arrived while the shooting and farming world is still waiting for Defra and…
New £10,000 bursary scheme available for young keepers and stalkers
A generous new bursary scheme which supports young keepers or stalkers in the first five years of their career has been announced by Holland & Holland. The company is keen to support natural resource management and to this end will give £10,000 to a successful applicant showing the desired credentials…
Sporting Gun talks to Dr Mark Avery of Wild Justice about general licences
Sporting Gun: What provoked you to initiate your legal challenge to Natural England (NE) about the general licences when you did? Wild Justice: NE issued the licences on 1 January each year and to seek a judicial review one has to go through various steps inside three months – so…
We asked a Natural England representative to answer your questions on the practicalities of the new general licences. Here’s what she said ….
1) Despite repeated attempts at scaring, a farm suffered serious damage to a pea crop throughout the growing season. Can the farmer arrange for the [wood] pigeons to be shot over the pea stubble to reduce numbers and prevent damage next growing season? A: Yes, assuming that a crop…
The truth about pigeon damage
Perhaps this is a good time to pause and ask a question: do we really need to shoot woodpigeons? If the general licence fiasco has reminded us of anything, it is that for pigeons to be controlled, they must be doing not just damage, but serious damage. So is this…
Tell Defra what you think about the impact of Natural England’s decision to revoke three general licences
All shooters, keepers, farmers and landmanagers are encouraged to take part in submitting evidence to Defra to state how the sudden Natural England ruling on general licences has affected them. Defra has launched a call for evidence on the impact of the recent @NaturalEngland decision to revoke three general licences.…
The new individual licences from Natural England – what’s been the experience of shooters so far?
Staff at Natural England have been working through more than 1000 applications from farmers gamekeepers and pest shooters since the previous system of general licences was scrapped a week ago. The individual licences have been welcomed as clearer and much less restrictive than the new general licence for carrion crows…
Why you should pay a visit to the Northern Shooting Show 2019
The Northern Shooting Show is back. Now in its fourth year, once again it will be held at the Yorkshire Event Centre, just off the A1 to the east of Harrogate, on 11 and 12 May. It is the perfect show for anyone with a passion for shooting and showcases…
This photograph of Michael Gove with Chris Packham surprised us
< My meeting with @michaelgove this morning started well – two Red Kites soaring from his office window , as did our cordial discussions about @ExtinctionR @WildJustice_org , the Peoples Manifesto for Wildlife and the need for more regulation in environmental care . pic.twitter.com/8bbeEmPIcW — Chris Packham (@ChrisGPackham) May 1,…
General licences latest update – what happens now?
The revocation of the general licences from midnight on the 25th of April means that in most situations it will be a criminal offence to kill any wild bird in England unless you hold a personal licence issued by Natural England. This includes crows, magpies, jays, gulls, parakeets, Canada geese…
The latest reactions to withdrawal of the general licences
Farmers, gamekeepers and recreational shooters have reacted with a mixture of anger and confusion to the decision by Natural England to withdraw the general licences for England with just two days notice at the height of the lambing and nesting seasons. The decision follows a legal challenge by the campaign…