BASC presses Defra on gamebird release debacle
- BASC
- July 18, 2023
- 3:29 pm
BASC has warned it may take legal action over Defra’s failure to reinstate permissions for shoots to release gamebirds on or close to land designated as environmentally sensitive.
General licence GL43, which authorised the release, subject to conditions, of pheasants and red-legged partridges on or within 500m of Special Protected Areas (SPAs) and Special Areas of Conservation (SACs), expired on May 31.
This left the hundreds of shoots that operate on those areas in an impossible position, having acquired thousands of poults but now legally prevented from releasing them.
After intense pressure from BASC and other shooting organisations, Defra eventually renewed GL43, but excluded SPAs from the general licence, instead requiring shoots operating near those areas to apply for individual licences – a time-consuming and uncertain process.
At the time of writing, Defra has not provided any information on its decision-making process behind the banning of releasing in these areas.
BASC has instructed lawyers to begin the process that will seek permission from the High Court to bring a judicial review of Defra’s decision to change GL43. We are also working with partner organisations including Aim to Sustain to gain an early resolution to the issue.
Wholly unacceptable
We have written to ministers to express our outrage that Defra’s failure has forced shoot owners into a position where they will be unable to sell their birds and breaking one law if they release their birds, or another if they continue to keep them or cull them against welfare regulations. Many shoots could face financial ruin.
BASC chief executive Ian Bell said: “Defra has refused to engage with the shooting community on this issue and has created massive confusion and concern at a critical point in the year when shoots are on the brink of releasing. This is wholly unacceptable behaviour by a government department and will not go unchallenged by BASC. We will be pressing Defra and government in the strongest of terms.”
Shoot owners are encouraged to contact their local MP to raise their concerns with Defra ministers.
Meanwhile, we have advised anyone who needs to apply for an individual licence to do so immediately.
The latest information explaining what has happened, who may be affected, and what they need to do, is available on the BASC website, along with Defra’s own advice on making individual licence applications.
Defra’s initial issue of GL43, in conjunction with an interim licensing scheme, was in response to a legal challenge by Wild Justice against allowing the release of gamebirds on European protected sites in the UK.
