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An untimely call for evidence

With the Senedd elections only weeks away, Welsh Labour has announced an ‘independent call for evidence on gamebird release in Wales’. Conor O’Gorman investigates.

If you don’t get the right answer the first time, try again. Ireland and Denmark infamously re-ran referendums until voters said ‘yes’ to various EU treaties.

In Wales, gamebird releasing faces another call for evidence despite a previous review in 2022, followed by ban proposals in 2023 that were overwhelmingly rejected by those responding to the public consultation.

On 17 March, in a disappointing move, Huw Irranca-Davies MS, Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for
Climate Change and Rural Affairs issued a written statement on behalf of the Welsh Government announcing an ‘independent call for evidence on gamebird release in Wales’.

An 'independent' review

A research organisation called Environment Platform Wales, funded by the Welsh Government and Natural Resources Wales, has been selected to carry out the ‘independent’ review.

There is no timetable for when this evidence gathering exercise will happen, only that it will ‘draw on the latest scientific research, expert insight and practical experience to build a clearer understanding of potential impacts of gamebird release and to help identify where regulation may be required to protect our most sensitive sites’.

Let’s be clear. The last thing nature recovery in Wales needs is a gamebird release licensing system that will inevitably become a ban by the backdoor, and BASC remains opposed to any such move.

We have already seen what licensing looks like in England with many shoots left in limbo on whether they can release gamebirds on or near Special Protection Areas ahead of the 2026/27 shooting season. 

Natural England, the agency tasked with that failing licensing system, is facing a judicial review initiated by BASC to hold the quango to account for its decision making.

What happens next?

When this call for evidence launches BASC will review the terms and conditions. If ‘practical experience’ means an invitation to the public to provide case studies, then we will be urging and supporting every game shoot small and large to provide evidence of species diversity in places where gamebird releasing takes place.

The minister’s speech appears to pre-determine the outcome of the review, notably with the statement: ‘it remains our policy intention to move towards a more regulated and sustainable system for managing gamebird releases, including the potential introduction of a future licensing regime’.

Welsh Labour has yet to publish its manifesto for the Senedd elections.

Reform UK published its Wales manifesto on 5 March and this contained the promise that: ‘Reform will not ban the release of game birds or create a licensing regime for the activity to continue. There is already sufficient legislation and governance in place to stop any bad practice or illegal activity. We will protect lawful game bird releases’.

Whatever the colour of government in Wales on 8 May, should ban proposals arise from the mooted call for evidence, we will continue to fight for sustainable game shooting as we did successfully with the ‘Act Now’ campaign in 2023.

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Conor OGorman

Conor O’Gorman has worked in a variety of conservation, policy and campaigning roles at BASC over the last 20 years. A zoology graduate with a PhD awarded for grey partridge research, he has over 25 years’ experience in conservation and land management.
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