Following receipt this week of a second ‘Freedom of Information’ reply from Natural England it now appears more controversy has been uncovered relating to the proposed licenced killing of 10 Buzzards to protect pheasants classified as livestock, even when away from their rearing pens. Natural England have now provided the following additional guidance:-
The 3 paragraphs below are a summary of what was contained in Natural England’s Freedom of Information reply further down this page:
The guidance provided seems to be pandering to the needs of game shooting, rather than the well -being of a specie classified by a court as livestock. When rearing pheasants gamekeepers routinely place feeding bins strategically throughout the shoot ensuring reared pheasants remain dependant upon the gamekeeper preventing the pheasant from straying too far from where they had been reared enabling more birds to be shot. To do otherwise would result in pheasants straying away from one shoot moving onto a second.
In the case of the 10 buzzards under sentence of death, when considering the information placed before the court , the Judge may have been unaware or was not told that reared pheasants outside their rearing pens are dependent upon food supplied by the gamekeeper almost entirely throughout their short lives, ensuring these birds return to the feeder bins well into the shooting season, and in most instances into the winter months, not just a few weeks as stated in the guidance provided by Natural England.
Below we have added Natural England complete response to a second Freedom of Information request. It will be interesting to hear what you think.
In response to your enquiry on the issuing of a licence to control up to 10 buzzards, we are providing further clarification on the decision. For security and data protection reasons, we cannot give any details about the licence holder.
Wildlife licences are required from Natural England for activities that will disturb or remove wildlife or damage habitats and can be granted to prevent damage to agriculture, livestock, fisheries, property or archaeology.
So far this year, we have received over 5500 wildlife licence applications covering a variety of species. In deciding whether a licence should be granted, all applications have to be assessed in the same way against the relevant policy and within the legal framework of the the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (WCA).
We discharge this role as a wildlife licensing authority alongside the range of our statutory responsibilities as government’s adviser on nature conservation.
In assessing the buzzard licence application we took into account the legislative tests and policy guidance, the evidence received from the applicant, industry guidance and scientific literature. The application was rigorously assessed with input from specialists across our organisation.
The High Court has recently considered the issues surrounding the granting of a licence to kill buzzards in order to protect livestock and given clear direction on the decision making process. This includes the need to balance the protection of wild birds against the requirement to prevent serious damage to livestock and the need to adopt a consistent approach to the interpretation of policy which applies across a number of species. Natural England has taken account of the court’s findings in reaching this decision.
The licence to control buzzards was issued to protect against serious damage to livestock. The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 defines livestock as any animal which is ‘kept for the provision or improvement of shooting or fishing’.
Our guidance says that where birds are either in pens or are significantly dependent on people they are classed as livestock. For example, where a bird remains in close proximity to a release pen and will often return to it for shelter or to roost at night, and is dependent of food put out by the gamekeeper then we usually consider it to still be livestock even if it is free-living. As pheasants are released at a relatively young age, they will be dependent on the gamekeeper for several weeks at least. Natural England revised this guidance to take account of the High Court ruling, having consulted our stakeholders.
As a public body, Natural England has to balance the public interest with the security of the individuals who apply for licences. In the interests of transparency, Natural England will shortly be making documents associated with the assessment and granting of this licence publicly available. These also include details about control methods, assessment and criteria under which the licence has been granted. Any disclosed documents will be released in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA) and therefore some details, such as personal information, may be redacted.
We would not consider licensing any activity which would adversely affect the conservation status of a species. Buzzards have increased dramatically in recent decades and are now common and widespread, with over sixty thousand pairs in the UK (British Trust for Ornithology). The loss of small numbers of birds in a small area will have no impact on conservation status.
It is illegal to kill wild birds without a licence from Natural England and anyone who suspects a wildlife crime should report details to the police.
Links –
Government webpage on wildlife licences
Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981
British Ornithology Trust information on buzzards
Thank you for your enquiry
Natural England Enquiries Team – Technical Services
Natural England
County Hall
Spetchley Road
WORCESTER
WR5 2NP
