NE clarifies licensing

DEFRA and Natural England (NE) have confirmed that individual licences for buzzard control can be made available, but only where certain tests are met. The tests, were defined late last year after meetings with the National Gamekeepers’ Organisation (NGO), DEFRA and NE.

A spokesman for the NGO told Shooting Times: “The clarifications are welcome. Since 1981, the Wildlife and Countryside Act has provided a route whereby actions that would normally be illegal can be allowed by NE and equivalent bodies under licence. The Government and NE have made clear to the NGO that this can include buzzard control, but only in circumstances where the damage buzzards would otherwise cause is likely to be serious and there is no other satisfactory solution.

The rest of this article appears in the 13th March issue of Shooting Times.

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