Wildlife crime needs enforcement, not gamebird licensing

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BASC has responded to a new RSPB report on the illegal killing of birds of prey, reaffirming its zero-tolerance position on wildlife crime while calling for targeted enforcement rather than sector-wide licensing.

The report, published by the RSPB, records 921 confirmed incidents of illegal bird of prey persecution across the UK between 2015 and 2024, with 55 per cent occurring on or near land managed for gamebird shooting. The charity is using the findings to call for mandatory licensing of all gamebird shooting in England and Wales, with cases assessed under a civil rather than criminal burden of proof.

Catch the criminals. Don't punish the countryside.

BASC’s deputy director of conservation, Dr Marnie Lovejoy, said: “BASC unreservedly condemns the illegal killing of birds of prey. These incidents are carried out by a small minority and have no place in the modern shooting community.

“The RSPB is calling for gamebird shooting to be licensed, but licensing punishes the responsible majority for the crimes of a few. Behind every shoot are gamekeepers, farmers and rural workers whose jobs and communities depend on this sector. Together they manage 7.6 million hectares and deliver £500 million of conservation work every year. That is what genuine partnership with nature looks like, and it is what licensing puts at risk.

“Licensing doesn’t raise the bar for offenders; it lowers the bar for regulators. That’s not justice, it’s a shortcut. Catch the criminals. Don’t punish the countryside.

“The answer is stronger enforcement and better-resourced wildlife crime units, targeting the individuals responsible, not those delivering nature recovery on the ground.”

The RSPB’s own report records 24 convictions over ten years, evidence that where enforcement is properly resourced, it works. BASC would support greater investment in the National Wildlife Crime Unit and rural policing to build on that record.

What the RSPB left out

On hen harriers specifically, the picture the RSPB presents is incomplete. In 2023, 141 hen harrier chicks fledged in England, the highest figure recorded in over two centuries and the seventh consecutive year of population growth. That recovery is happening on the land the shooting community manages.

Since 2020, BASC has committed more than £200,000 to Natural England’s Hen Harrier Action Plan. The trend is in the right direction, and it is moving that way because of partnership, not despite the absence of licensing.

On the call for licensing

The RSPB argues that licensing would penalise only those who break the law. In practice, it would allow shoots to be penalised on the balance of probabilities – a lower standard of proof than applies to any other serious criminal offence. If the evidence isn’t strong enough to convict an individual, it isn’t strong enough to close down a business.

BASC has engaged directly with Defra on this issue and will continue to do so. We support the Land Use Framework‘s ambition for consistently high standards across the shooting sector. The right way to achieve that is through partnership, evidence-based regulation and properly funded enforcement.

BASC encourages anyone with evidence of the illegal killing of a bird of prey to report it to the police.

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