Shooting bodies publish guidance for Defra’s gamebird evidence call

Guidance on answering Defra’s 106-question call for evidence on gamebird rearing, release and shooting in England was published on Monday (28 September) by the Countryside Alliance, drawn up with Aim to Sustain partner organisations and the GWCT as scientific adviser. The call closes on Sunday 1 November, and the Alliance is urging everyone with relevant knowledge and first-hand experience of shoots to respond.

What is Defra asking for?

The call for evidence is in two parts: section A covers gamebird release and shooting, and section B the rearing of pheasant, red-legged partridge and mallard. Defra wants evidence on environmental impacts, including biodiversity, protected sites and habitats, animal health and disease risk, wildlife crime, the housing and welfare of birds during breeding and rearing, and how well current regulatory and voluntary approaches work.

The department has stressed that no policy decisions have been taken and that any future proposals would go to a full public consultation. An independent assessment of the economic value of the gamebird sector is being commissioned separately. The evidence sought includes peer-reviewed research, official statistics and monitoring data, and well-documented operational experience – the working knowledge held by keepers, shoot managers and game farmers.

The Alliance’s warning over grey literature

Writing on the Alliance’s website, Adrian Blackmore, its director of shooting, said it was “unfortunate” that Defra will also accept unpublished evidence, working papers and other grey literature, “with the high probability that these may contain figures and claims that are unverifiable, such as those in the RSPB’s annual Birdcrime Reports”.

He noted that many of the questions “lead with a negative, only to then follow with a request for positive information”, and said opponents of game shooting are “fully expected” to use the process to promote an anti-shooting agenda. The RSPB’s chief executive, he wrote, contacted the Environment Secretary in January expressing disappointment that licensing of shooting and gamebird release had not been included in the Government’s animal welfare strategy, and in doing so made what the Alliance describes as an unsubstantiated claim intended to influence policy.

How should shoots respond?

Respondents need only answer the questions for which they hold relevant evidence, using the online form on Defra’s consultation site. Those unable to respond online can reply by email to gamebirds@defra.gov.uk, putting “Call for Evidence” in the subject line and referencing the question numbers being addressed. The guidance stresses that submissions should be analytical and supported by evidence rather than opinion.

What happens next

The call for evidence closes on Sunday 1 November. Defra will then assess the responses alongside the separately commissioned economic study, and the Alliance says that if any policy changes are proposed it will make sure supporters can raise concerns with their MPs and Defra ministers before a public consultation concludes.