BASC defends call to add parakeets to quarry lists

UPDATED 15 July 2026: follow-up of BASC responds to bird quarry review (ShootingUK, 1 June 2026); what is new is BASC’s public rebuttal of the Protect the Wild campaign against its parakeet recommendation.

BASC has rejected claims by animal rights campaigners that its recommendation to add ring-necked and monk parakeets to the bird quarry lists is about sport, insisting the change would give landowners and farmers legal options to protect native wildlife and crops. The intervention in the parakeet quarry list row comes ahead of the review’s outcome, expected on 10 August.

Why does BASC want parakeets on the quarry lists?

In its response to the government consultation on changes to the bird quarry lists in England, Wales and Scotland, BASC (basc.org.uk) recommended adding both parakeet species to give “flexibility of approach” for landowners and farmers to act quickly to prevent or mitigate impacts.

The association points to the conservation case first: ring-necked parakeets compete aggressively with native cavity-nesting birds such as woodpeckers and nuthatches for nest holes, and there are reported cases of parakeets killing bats roosting in tree hollows. The birds also target fruit crops including apples, pears and plums, and Mediterranean studies have recorded parakeet damage cutting corn harvests by up to 30 per cent.

What did BASC say to the shooting for sport claim?

The recommendation drew a campaign piece from Protect the Wild on 13 July claiming the association wants the birds shot for sport. Conor O’Gorman, who has worked in conservation, policy and campaigning roles at BASC for 20 years, rejected that directly.

“This is not about ‘shooting for sport’ as claimed by the antis; it is about ensuring that people have legal options to control these invasive non-native species, just as they currently have for grey squirrels and mink,” he said.

What do the parakeet control rules say now?

Ring-necked parakeets are already listed on some general licences in England, but BASC says the terms and conditions are complex, and in Wales and Scotland an individual licence is needed before any control can take place. The species has now reached Scotland and Northern Ireland.

There is precedent for firmer action: Defra has largely eradicated local populations of the monk parakeet, which builds communal nests on pylons and masts, by destroying nests and eggs and removing adults, at a cost of hundreds of thousands of pounds.

What happens next?

The outcome of the British bird quarry species review is expected on 10 August, covering proposed changes across England, Wales and Scotland. Conor O’Gorman’s full article is at basc.org.uk/managing-parakeets-before-the-problem-grows.