No support for shooting birds for sport – AM
ENVIRONMENT Minister Hannah Blythyn has told Wales’ biggest quango that the Welsh Government does not support the shooting of birds for sport on its land.
Natural Resources Wales (NRW) has been carrying out a public consultation exercise about the issue following concerns raised by animal welfare organisations, including Animal Aid and the League Against Cruel Sports. Tomorrow NRW’s board is due to consider the results of the consultation.
Animal Aid and the League Against Cruel Sports are concerned that NRW officials are recommending that pheasant shooting should continue on land owned by the Welsh Government which is managed by NRW, even though most respondents to the consultation were against it.
In a letter to the NRW board, Ms Blythyn states: “The NRW review looked at the purpose for which shooting is undertaken in the context of the sustainable management of natural resources.
“However, the review did not go as far as to consider some of the wider policy and ethical issues. While shooting on private land is for the landowner to decide, we need to take account of wider considerations and public views in considering what happens on the Welsh Government estate.
“Given the wider policy issues and concerns, the Welsh Government does not support commercial pheasant shooting, or the breeding of game birds or the birds being held in holding pens on the estate prior to release on the Welsh Government estate.
“I would ask our position on these issues is fed into the NRW discussions of future shooting activities on the Welsh Government estate and you consider not renewing the pheasant shooting lease agreements as they expire.”
There has been significant public support for Animal Aid’s campaign, with 12,700 people signing a petition calling for a ban on shooting on NRW land, as well as from the League Against Cruel Sports, which joined Animal Aid and commissioned a YouGov poll to gauge the views of Welsh citizens. In that poll, 76% of respondents said that they oppose the shooting of “game” birds for sport on public land in Wales.
These figures are backed up by the results of the public consultation part of the review process. Of all the 4,700 responses received, 76% wanted a ban on shooting birds on NRW land. When considering only the responses from Welsh residents, 63% wanted a ban on shooting birds on NRW’s land.
Responding to Ms Blythyn’s intervention, Fiona Pereira, campaign manager for Animal Aid, said: “We are delighted the minister has spoken out against shooting.”