GWCT to guide shoots on Defra gamebird call for evidence

The Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust will publish guidance within the next fortnight for members and shoots that want to submit their own evidence to Defra’s call for evidence on gamebird release, shooting and welfare. The trust said on Tuesday 15 September that its gamebird scientists and policy team are pulling together more than 25 years of data and peer-reviewed research for a full submission of their own before the 1 November deadline.

What is the GWCT doing about the call for evidence?

Alongside its submission, the trust has arranged several visits for policymakers to the shoot at the Allerton Project, its demonstration farm at Loddington in Leicestershire, to show best-practice shoot management and what it delivers for nature. Chief executive Nick von Westenholz set out the trust’s position when the call was announced on 3 September: “The impact of gamebird releases on the environment and wildlife is nuanced and complex, contrary to the simplistic messages we often hear, making it vital that future policy is informed by robust science and evidence.”

The trust says the evidence shows that best-practice gamebird management “can boost biodiversity alongside productive farming at the scale required for national nature recovery, offering a huge contribution to public goods at no cost to the taxpayer”.

Why shoots should send their own evidence

The GWCT’s view is that evidence from shoots themselves could fill gaps in the record and demonstrate the scale of good practice. It points to the Big Farmland Bird Count, the National Gamebag Census and the Partridge Count Scheme as proof that practitioner returns add up to large and useful datasets. Ahead of its guidance it sets out four points: the call closes on 1 November; it covers England only, but relevant evidence gathered elsewhere is welcome; evidence can be peer-reviewed science, grey literature such as reports and working papers, official statistics, monitoring data, or operational and experiential evidence; and the Defra Gamebirds Team can be contacted with questions.

What is Defra asking about?

The call for evidence sits within the Land Use Framework published in March and the Animal Welfare Strategy of last December. Defra has said no policy decisions have been taken, and the trust expects any proposed change to go to public consultation before primary or secondary legislation. The questions cover the positive and negative effects of gamebird activities on biodiversity and protected sites; links with avian influenza, bird of prey crime, lead shot, medicated products and pesticides; how many birds are shot, enter the food chain or go to waste; how pheasants, partridges and mallard are housed and reared; what proportion are bred or imported; how common health and welfare plans are; and whether the statutory codes of practice are sufficient.

BASC’s social science team said on Monday that 31 of the 106 questions carry methodological bias. The GWCT’s guidance will give shoots a second industry route into the same document.

What happens next?

The GWCT guidance is expected within two weeks, and the call for evidence closes on 1 November 2026. Shoots can read the questions in full on Defra’s consultation site now and start gathering their records of releases, habitat work, predator control and welfare planning ahead of the guidance.