Natural England failing conservation

For years, those working in conservation have suspected that Natural England’s licensing system was failing the people and practices delivering real conservation outcomes. Now, the proof comes straight from the horse’s mouth.

Natural England’s performance data for 2023–2024 makes for uncomfortable reading. The agency’s Key Performance Indicator report rates its performance on “licences that benefit species conservation” as Amber‑Red, with just 53.8% of licences issued having a direct conservation benefit, well below the 60% target.

This marks a fundamental failure to support those achieving measurable conservation results. While Natural England struggles with basic administrative competence, gamekeepers, land managers and shooting interests continue to restore habitats and recover species.

BASC’s environmental law advisor Alex Murray put it plainly: “NE’s own data tells a story of failure when it comes to licensing for species conservation. The system is unfit for purpose.”

Licensing system undermines conservation work

The evidence is clear: Natural England is falling short of its own targets while actively undermining conservation on the ground. The agency admitted it “took the decision in‑year to prioritise meeting customer service standards to address the backlog of overdue cases, which included a significant number of licences not directly benefitting species conservation”.

This trade‑off between paperwork and conservation highlights the systemic challenges within Natural England. The irony is stark: while Natural England stumbles through its licensing processes, the shooting community continues to deliver proven, measurable conservation outcomes.

BASC argues the problem runs deeper than administration. “NE’s poor performance on licensing is not a technical glitch but a symptom of a deeper failure to engage with the people and practices that are vital to conservation,” Alex explained.

The organisation highlights “measurable, landscape‑scale benefits provided by shooting interests, particularly in upland and moorland areas” – benefits Natural England continues to overlook. BASC describes this as “a broken licensing system and, ultimately, declining conservation outcomes”.

Natural England’s struggles also reflect broader institutional failures across government conservation bodies. Recent scrutiny by the National Audit Office has exposed systemic weaknesses throughout the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and its agencies, suggesting the problem lies in governance as much as in individual departments.