A lack of monitoring means we have no idea how many wild birds are killed under the General Licence in Scotland every year.
5 min read
The licencing system allowing people to lethally control wild birds in Scotland is not fit for purpose, according to RSPB Scotland.
General Licences allow people to carry out activities that would otherwise be illegal, such as controlling certain bird species to prevent serious damage to livestock and crops or to protect other wildlife.
However, under the current system landowners do not need to apply for a licence to lethally control birds such as Crows, Jackdaws, and Rooks.
While NatureScot state that the licence must be used appropriately and abide by animal welfare requirements, there is no process by which usage of these licences is routinely monitored or reported.
“We recognise that the licenced control of some species may be appropriate in certain evidence-based circumstances,” said Ian Thomson, Investigations Manager for RSPB Scotland.
“Yet the killing of otherwise protected species needs to be backed up by a system of compliance monitoring, submission of licence returns, and publication by NatureScot of summarised results on an annual basis – as the RSPB does for its own landholdings.
We currently have no idea how many wild birds are killed under General Licence in Scotland every year."
NatureScot is currently holding a consultation on General Licences, which could see changes to how the current system functions.
At present, NatureScot does not record who uses these licences, to what extent they are used or why, nor does it record where in Scotland they are utilised.
The unaccountability within this system has repeatedly been abused such as in the recent case of a Perthshire gamekeeper who beat a Goshawk to death after pulling it from a crow trap, which was being used under the General Licence.
“This consultation gives us a chance to ask whether a system that permits the unrestricted, unmonitored, and unregulated killing of protected species should continue,” added Thomson.
“The proposals in this consultation currently perpetuate a system that is out-dated, unaccountable and not fit for purpose.
“Multiple police investigations and successful prosecutions show how this system is widely misused and abused to the detriment of protected species, including birds of prey.
“In order to fully protect Scotland’s incredible wildlife, we need a licencing system which is up to standard.”
The RSPB has called on those with concerns to respond to the consultation here.
The closing date for NatureScot’s consultation on General Licences is 31 August.
