Gamebird licensing - why are we waiting?

Published: 9 September

The shooting season for Red-legged Partridges opened on 1 September, followed by the Pheasant shooting season on 1 October. This was supposed to be the second year in which releases might have required a licence, following a public consultation to which many RSPB supporters responded.

Natural Resources Wales (NRW) provided clear advice to Welsh Government in October 2023, but plans for licensing have been repeatedly delayed. With two deadlines missed and more than three years since Ministers initiated the review, the wait continues.

A detailed review by RSPB scientists in 2020 highlighted the environmental impacts of management linked to large-scale gamebird releases. Smaller shoots, that release fewer birds, are much less likely to cause damage. In fact, well managed shoots can help create habitats for native wildlife and control predators in places where intensive agriculture would otherwise drive declines.

NRW’s advice to Welsh Government is that releasing Pheasants and Red-legged Partridges should be illegal without permission. In and around Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs), NRW would have to be satisfied that damage would not be caused to the protected wildlife and habitats before granting a licence. Elsewhere, a ‘General Licence’ would define the maximum numbers of birds released within an area.

NRW says that the current system cannot adequately protect nature. It's vital that on designated sites, activities that include releasing large numbers of non-native birds do not pose a risk to our wildlife.

Our science review in 2020 highlighted the risks of disease transfer to wildlife from gamebirds kept at high densities and then released into the countryside. But at the time we could not have predicted the impact that bird flu would subsequently have on birds globally. The biggest effects have been on seabirds, but among those that have tested positive in Wales are Red-listed birds of conservation concern such as Curlews and Hen Harriers as well as Buzzards, Peregrines and Tawny Owls.

In May, two Pheasants tested positive for bird flu in the North Berwyn hills, presumably having been released from a pen. Within weeks bird flu was confirmed in captive gamebirds nearby. We now know, having obtained information under the Environment Information Regulations, that the two reported were from a mass mortality event of around 875 dead Pheasants “in the wild”. The nearby game-rearing facility contained 11,000 Pheasants and 10,000 partridges, following which protection and surveillance zones were declared, which prevented gamebird releases until it was revoked last month.

This is extremely concerning because the entire population of Red-listed Black Grouse in Wales is in North Berwyn and the adjacent moorlands, and it’s an important area for breeding Curlews. Bird flu outbreaks in released Pheasants also pose a risk to scavengers including birds of prey. The incidents are close to the Berwyn Special Protection Area, classified for its populations of Hen Harrier, Merlin, Peregrine and Red Kite.

In Wales, bird flu cases in released Pheasants don’t trigger disease control zones, meaning if there is an outbreak in released Pheasants, shoots can continue to release birds that could further spread the disease. There is no requirement for shoots to report sick or dead released Pheasants or wild birds, nor to collect carcasses of dead released Pheasants on their land. With no licensing system in place to regulate releases of gamebirds, there is little NRW can do to help protect threatened wildlife.

Only time will tell whether Black Grouse were put at further risk by the outbreak(s) in Berwyn, but it’s clear that licensing is the only way to effectively regulate gamebird releases.

Even if bird flu had never occurred in Wales, there are multiple reasons why regulation is needed to protect the environment.

High numbers of gamebirds can damage soil through enrichment, lead to predation of reptiles and may increase the numbers of generalist predators like Foxes, which can then threaten endangered wildlife. Moreover, illegal killing of birds of prey is associated with gamebird shoots: incidents in Wales were three times more likely to occur in areas where gamebird shooting takes place.

With the Senedd about to start its final session before elections next May, time is running out. We welcomed a recent agreement to ban the sale and use of most lead ammunition, but by ignoring the recommendations of its own nature adviser, Welsh Government is failing to protect nature and will weaken its ambition for 30% of land and sea in Wales to be in good condition by 2030.

Welsh Government still has time to make the right decision and introduce licensing, but time is running out. You can help by emailing the Deputy First Minister (Correspondence.Huw.Irranca-Davies@gov.wales) to say that we need action, and we need it now.