General licences – what is the fuss all about?!

Published by Lewis Bretherton on

I have been a very keen volunteer in the BASC North region for several years; however, the amount of shooting that I have been doing myself has been extremely limited. Therefore I was so pleased to have been invited to do some crop protection on the pigeons towards the end of summer this year.  

I had never had a day pigeon shooting and with the general licence recently being under the microscope I thought I would write a few words regarding it. The reason I have chosen the general licence for the topic of this article is because when the issue came to light, it became apparent that the whole subject was often misunderstood by shooters.

So firstly, what is the general licence…

“General licences are issued by government agencies to provide a legal basis for people to carry out a range of activities relating to wildlife. By definition you do not need to apply for general licences but you are required by law to abide by their terms and conditions. General licences are renewed annually in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. These general licences are made available on the websites of the relevant government agencies and include those general licences relevant to the all year round control of ‘pest birds’ such as carrion and hooded crows, magpies and woodpigeon. Control methods allowed under general licence may include shooting; the destruction of eggs and nests; and the use of cage traps such as larsen traps, larsen mates and multi-catch traps.”

BASC

This is a definition taken from the General Licence section of the BASC website; there is also much more information on the new licenses to be found on BASC’s website, along with a number of websites for government agencies so there is no excuse for not knowing the dos and don’ts before going out to carry out ‘pest control’. Please educate yourselves; our community is under threat from pressure groups as I am sure you are all aware, so if we can all stay on the right side of the law and show everyone that we are actually good people doing the right thing, then I feel that shooting may be held in a much better light.

Finally, a reminder that some changes are still being made to the licences so make sure you know and understand the general licence for the area in which you are shooting.

I hope this has raised a little more awareness and maybe answered some question for some readers. I wish everyone the best of luck for the season.

Lewis Bretherton

Lewis Bretherton

I was born and bred in the glorious county of Lancashire which houses some of the greatest variety of shooting sports in the country. From the magnificent grouse moors all the way to the muddy foreshore, I have been truly blessed to spend 19 wonderful years here surrounded by shooting. I started my shooting life around the age of four by going out with my dad on the marsh and my grandad picking-up; this is where my love for the countryside first began to blossom. I was granted my shotgun certificate aged seven and joined two local wildfowling clubs as a Young Shot so that I could go out with my father and carry on the family’s wildfowling tradition. I have attended country shows and game fairs up and down the country and I now have the title of BASC’s Lead Young Shots Ambassador in the Northern region. I try to fly the flag for young people within the shooting world. I also have a huge passion for conservation and my latest ‘BASC Bird Box Project’ has been a huge success with more than 1,000 boxes now up on shoots and in woodland across the UK. It has even been recognised by a number of MPs! I’m proud to be able to show that the shooting world is not just about pulling the trigger but also the countryside and the environment.
Categories: Young Shots Journalists

Lewis Bretherton

I was born and bred in the glorious county of Lancashire which houses some of the greatest variety of shooting sports in the country. From the magnificent grouse moors all the way to the muddy foreshore, I have been truly blessed to spend 19 wonderful years here surrounded by shooting. I started my shooting life around the age of four by going out with my dad on the marsh and my grandad picking-up; this is where my love for the countryside first began to blossom. I was granted my shotgun certificate aged seven and joined two local wildfowling clubs as a Young Shot so that I could go out with my father and carry on the family’s wildfowling tradition. I have attended country shows and game fairs up and down the country and I now have the title of BASC’s Lead Young Shots Ambassador in the Northern region. I try to fly the flag for young people within the shooting world. I also have a huge passion for conservation and my latest ‘BASC Bird Box Project’ has been a huge success with more than 1,000 boxes now up on shoots and in woodland across the UK. It has even been recognised by a number of MPs! I’m proud to be able to show that the shooting world is not just about pulling the trigger but also the countryside and the environment.

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