Government plans for a new licensing scheme for game shoots in England could end the poisoning of birds of prey and reduce the release of tens of millions of pheasants into the countryside. The scheme, which has been campaigned for by conservationists for years, could severely curtail the centuries-long tradition of shooting game birds.
Licensing scheme details
Currently, about 30 million pheasants are set loose each year by shooting estates for people to pay to shoot. Under a licensing system, shoots would be given licences to release only a certain number of birds, potentially reducing this number. Estates linked to the poisoning or shooting of birds of prey could lose their ability to host shoots.
Beccy Speight, the chief executive of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), has been campaigning on this issue for many years. She is preparing documents to send in an “evidence sprint” to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, which has committed to consider only allowing estates to shoot under licence.
RSPB's stance
“We think this is a totally reasonable step to take. It is not to ban shooting in any sense; it is about saying we need shooting to be in a sustainable form, and it needs to be licensed so this wildlife crime can’t continue,” Speight says.
There is currently a licensing scheme for grouse in Scotland. Estates are given five-year licences to host shoots as long as they follow a code of practice, including protecting habitat for other birds such as waders. Shoots that are linked to the poisoning of birds of prey can lose their licence. Speight thinks a similar scheme could work in England.
Impact on raptors
Deaths of raptors such as buzzards, eagles and hen harriers are often linked to shooting estates because of fears from gamekeepers that they will prey on birds including grouse, partridge and pheasant. Magnificent white-tailed eagles can now be found swooping in the skies of south-west England thanks to a reintroduction programme. But raptors have faced persecution. Natural England recently found five white eagles in Dorset that had died from the same brand of rat poison. The Health and Safety Executive is investigating whether the poison was used in accordance with legal requirements designed to protect wildlife.
“It makes me feel sick,” Speight says. “All that work, these eagles are amazing birds. It is why we need licensing.” Seven satellite-tagged hen harriers were found poisoned or shot on or near grouse moors last year. Speight adds: “We find the satellite-tagged bodies and that is probably just the tip of the iceberg- buzzards, for example, aren’t satellite tagged so we can never find or test their bodies. It’s a serious problem that is going on in our natural world.”
Shooting industry response
Many people shoot sustainably, killing what they can eat or give to friends and family, and keep estates in a wilder condition, promoting biodiversity beyond just the birds which are kept to shoot. Under a licensing system, this would be preserved. Speight explains: “Shooting is a continuum, from small walk-up shoots up to very intensive bag-driven shoots, and it would probably result in more shooting at the start and middle rather than at that extreme end.”
The shooting industry has been furious at Speight’s campaigning. Roger Seddon, of the Countryside Alliance, recently described her as a “pied piper” and a “puppeteer controlling the environment secretary like a marionette”. Asked about this, Speight was exasperated: “It’s absolutely not true. It’s the job of the RSPB to drive its cause, which is a world where people and nature thrive side by side.”
Wildfire concerns
Speight is exhausted after dealing with the fallout from three devastating wildfires on RSPB reserves this summer. “They still have people putting hotspots of fire out,” she says. This is relevant to the shooting debate, too. For example, large intensive grouse moors are made up of dry heather habitat, which involves draining wet peatland and creating a monoculture of one plant. “Heather is incredibly flammable. Dried out peat is releasing carbon into the atmosphere but also becomes very susceptible to fire,” Speight says.
Speight says recent claims that wildfires are caused by rewilding are “nonsense”. “There is no evidence to back that up,” she said. “With rewilding, you get these more broken, natural mosaics with water in the landscape, which creates breaks and holds water in the landscape more. That has to be good from a wildfire perspective.”
A Defra spokesperson said: “Sustainable shooting has an important place in our rural communities, and we want to make sure high environmental and animal welfare standards are in place so that the practice succeeds and we’re protecting our ecosystems. We will work with key groups to explore other moves, such as licensing or other conditions for recreational game bird shooting and release. This will begin with evidence gathering and any changes will be subject to public consultation.”
