BASC urges rethink on bird flu measures for the sake of the countryside
BASC has warned that the government’s latest measures to control avian influenza could shut down significant parts of the English countryside.
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Fighting for the future
What is BASC doing about gamebird release restrictions due to avian influenza concerns? Gareth Dockerty explains….
In mid-April, Defra announced that it will not be issuing General Licence 45. Instead, Natural England (NE) will open applications for individual licences for anyone seeking to release red-legged partridge or pheasants on or near Special Protection Areas across England. The announcement included stark statements from NE that many shoots will be unlikely to get a licence to release this season due to concerns around avian influenza.
The comprehensive details and FAQs on this situation can be found on our advice pages here, however, it is well worth understanding what has happened and, more importantly, what BASC is doing about the situation.
For the want of a better way of saying it, we are not rolling belly up. We are fully prepared to support those shoots being impacted now, as well as in the longer-term fight to protect sustainable shooting.
Support for licence applications
In the short-term, the most important help we can offer is to directly support members with individual licence applications to Natural England. If you believe that your shoot is impacted by this decision, please contact your local regional team who are prepped and ready to support you. If you’re not sure who to get in touch with, you can find more information here.
We also have a team of ecological and legal specialists supporting members in the background. The current priority is towards those shoots in need, and we are here to help by providing a bespoke service. From a broader perspective, we have run evening webinars on the subject over the last two weeks for more than 200 people, ensuring their questions are answered and concerns heard.
A few questions answers
Do we agree with Natural England?
We understand what remit Natural England have, but we have yet to see the scientific assessments that underpin NE’s position.
However, having analysed the science ourselves, we believe that NE has likely taken an overly precautionary approach. There are significant mitigation measures that shoots can implement to reduce the likelihood of gamebirds meeting SPA feature species. Indeed, a cessation of shooting is likely to undermine beneficial conservation work – such as habitat management and predator control – that shoots undertake to support the very feature species the licence restrictions are trying to protect.
Can this decision be legally challenged?
In 2023, BASC launched a claim for a judicial review in response to Defra’s decision to carve out SPAs from the 2023 licencing regime without any consultation of the sector and at very late stage in the shooting calendar. BASC secured the High Court’s permission to bring this this judicial review and the dispute was ultimately settled in 2024 after commitments of further and meaningful engagement from Defra.
Circumstances have now changed, however. While civil servants of Defra consistently engaged with the sector over the last few months, we understand now that new Minister in charge took the decision not to issue GL45 this year due to the uncertainties around Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI).
In addition, Natural England was reinstated as the licencing authority and announced they consider it unlikely that they will issue individual licences to an extensive list of SPAs.
Unfortunately, we have not yet been provided access to the underlying ecological assessments of this decision which we requested as a matter of urgency. It is important for us to scrutinise the decision-making process carefully and assess if any further legal challenges are available. We have already taken legal advice on individual aspects that have come to light.
Any legal or scientific inconsistencies will be challenged in order to support our members on the ground who are being put in a difficult situation in which they face impacts on their livelihoods but also the countryside and rural community they care for.
What about job losses and the impact on the rural economy?
Natural England’s remit as a statutory consultee is only focused on the natural environment and in this situation, the protection of the SPA bird features. However, BASC’s political team are currently raising within Westminster the economic impact of the decision, as well as its further implications for economic growth and social wellbeing in rural areas.
As constituents, impacted shoots play a huge part in this story. We know that personal accounts and real-world impacts resonate with MPs, all of whom have a duty to represent the needs of their constituents. We have arranged site visits for a variety of MPs across England over the last few months, however, we need more case studies and host shoots for this to continue.
Does my habitat management, predator control and feeding of wild birds help?
There is a huge amount of irony here; Natural England’s precautionary decision to likely refuse licences may well negatively impact the very site features it is trying to protect as the management of the shoot and legal predator control elements are removed.
Natural England have clearly indicated that they will not engage in a holistic assessment of the sites in question but instead take a, in our opinion, short-sighted focus on avian influenza as an individual risk.
This is regretful and difficult to understand for many shoots who are actively involved in conservation work that benefits the site features in question. We do not believe that this is a progressive and up-to-date approach to nature conservation and will continue to raise this with Natural England as well as the government.
Will this situation happen every year?
We don’t know. The decision is currently based on the background risk of avian influenza. As with all infectious outbreaks, this changes each year as new strains develop and impact in different ways. Remember, after the debacle of 2023, shoots operated under a broadly workable general licence last season.
What should shoots do now?
Talk to us! Each situation is bespoke, and we need to help you build a credible case. This might be support with your application or an MP visit. We are here to fight today, tomorrow and for the future. Find details of your local BASC team here.
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Gareth Dockerty
Gareth is Executive Director of shooting operations at BASC. Having joined the organisation in 2016, Gareth’s role focuses on ensuring decision makers, stakeholders and the public understand the benefits of shooting for upland habitats and rural communities.
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