BASC hits back over RSPB bid to halt release of birds

Defra has rebuffed an RSPB effort to use the avian influenza outbreak to push forward an anti-shooting agenda. The disease has cut a swathe through wild bird populations, hitting sea birds particularly hard.

In a statement, the RSPB said it was “calling for an immediate moratorium on the release of gamebirds and wildfowl for shooting in the UK this summer and autumn. The urgent call is for governments and the hunting industry to take a fully precautionary approach to the release of potentially infected captive birds, to limit the further catastrophic spread of avian influenza in wild birds.”

In response, Glynn

Evans, BASC head of game and gundogs, said: “For a national conservation charity, this political grandstanding campaign shows a fundamental lack of understanding of avian influenza, the Government’s strategies to combat it or how gamebird release is managed.

“The RSPB has failed to present a single piece of evidence to support its call and has chosen to ignore the substantial role shooting plays in the countryside.”

Defra responded with a statement indicating that it did not intend to change its policy with regard to gamebird releasing and avian influenza.

There is no evidence to support the RSPB’S call for a moratorium on the release of gamebirds, says BASC