Review on gamebirds in Wales is ‘too short’

Countryside Alliance and BASC are highly critical of Natural Resources Wales’s evidence-gathering exercise that was open for only six weeks

Shooting organisations have pushed back on a Welsh government proposal to review the release of gamebirds in Wales. The

Welsh Labour government has pursued what many see as an anti-shooting agenda in recent years, with an end to shooting on land managed by Natural Resources Wales, no COVID-19 grant support for some shoots and significant new restrictions on the use of the general licences.

The initial call for evidence on the release of gamebirds closed on 22 August after running for only six weeks and civil servants at Natural Resources Wales have said they will present a ‘preferred option’ to ministers later this year. Countryside Alliance claimed that the timescales were far too short for proper consideration, pointing out that

Defra, the Animal and Plant Health Agency and Natural England were undertaking an in-depth review into the impact of gamebird releases in England that will not be published until well into next year. This review will address the knowledge gaps exposed by an earlier review by the GWCT and the University of Exeter into the impact of pheasant releases on protected sites.

Shooting Times reader Rhys Allan, who lives in South Wales, had little confidence in the Welsh government. He said: “I think the review will find whatever they want it to find and that the civil servants will recommend whatever they think the government wants them to recommend.

“Looking at the recent history of decisions by the Welsh government, I doubt that this will come down in favour of

“Langholm Moor is a place where people can be inspired by wild nature as they watch hen harriers skydancing above the dramatic hills of a former grouse moor”

Who said it: A spokesperson for the

Tarras Valley Nature Reserve gamebird releasing, regardless of what the real evidence says.”

Dr Marnie Lovejoy, BASC head of evidence and environmental law, said: “Contrary to what is often purported by anti-shooting organisations, the release of gamebirds is already heavily regulated in the UK, including Wales.

THEY SAID WHAT

“Further regulations will not provide any benefits and cause unnecessary red tape”

“Further regulations will not provide any benefits and will cause unnecessary red tape for an important rural sector, economically impacting on already deprived rural areas and undermining environmental targets if beneficial habitat management linked to gamebird releasing ceases.”

Why: When it was a grouse moor, Langholm peaked at more than

20 harrier nests. It now has three.

The release of gamebirds is heavily regulated and needs no further red tape, says BASC