March

On March 24th the NRW board met and voted in favour of approving several changes to the General Licences. The major change will see magpie, jackdaw and jay all removed from GL 004 – ‘Licence to kill or take certain wild birds for the purpose of conserving wild birds’ when the current licence expires after the 30th of June and the new licences are issued on the 1st of July.

Do you shoot? If so, take our free online test to earn your GWCT Accredited Game Shot certificate.

Megan Rowland, a deer manager from the Highlands, was chosen as the overall winner of the INEOS Grenadier Countryside Champion Award 2022, coordinated by GunsOnPegs. 

Have you ever wanted to hear from our research staff in person or ask the burning questions to the experts? Now you can, as our popular series of roadshows is back in April and May.

We have long advocated a nuanced approach to tree planting. In 2020, we published an article which stated that “the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust believes that the ‘right tree in the right place’ approach is vital”. It was hugely encouraging, therefore, to see the government reinforcing this approach.

The UK supports five species of owl and last week, as I heard the distinctive ‘hooo, hu, huhuhuhooo’ of a male tawny owl (Stix aluco) on the site of the GWCT’s headquarters, I wanted to learn more.

Following NRW’s consultation at the end of last year, this week we have been made aware of proposed changes to the General Licences in Wales. The GWCT is extremely disappointed with the proposed changes, which could be considered a worst-case scenario given the questions posed within the previous consultation.

The GWCT Wetlands department is studying the breeding ecology of redshank in the Avon Valley and are aiming to discover more about this fascinating bird’s breeding behaviour and ecology.