On the 12th May 2021 Defra published their licence to release gamebirds on European sites and within 500m of their boundary (GL43). Please find further information here.
Natural England would like to remind you that they are offering an online Advice Service to help shoot managers and gamekeepers decide whether they can operate under the conditions of the general licence or will require an individual licence for the release of gamebirds. Their advice service is available here.
As a condition of the general licence gamekeepers are required to report information about the details of their release. Shoot Managers can do this by completing the Release Report Form here.
Any queries relating to the release of gamebirds on European Protected sites can be directed to the gamebirds mailbox at gamebirds@naturalengland.org.uk. Natural England aim to answer any queries within 5 working days. Any queries relating to Defra’s general licence (GL43) can be directed to Defra’s gamebird licencing team at GLTeam@defra.gov.uk.