On Monday 27th March Natural Resources Wales (NRW), on behalf of Welsh Government, launched a 12-week public consultation on their proposals to licence gamebird releasing in Wales. They propose to move pheasant and red-legged partridge onto Schedule 9 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 which would make it illegal to release these gamebirds except under licence.
Following this move, NRW propose that pheasant and red-legged partridge release would be permitted under a General Licence (a licence which does not need to be applied for, and does not incur any cost), requiring those releasing game to do so following the GWCT’s sustainable release guidelines, i.e. 1,000 pheasants per hectare of release pen or 700 pheasants per hectare of release pen for sensitive sites such as Ancient Semi-Natural Woodland.
They are less clear on their proposed definitions of ‘release area’ for red-legged partridge and are seeking clarity through the consultation.
Their proposed General Licence would not cover the vast majority of designated sites i.e. European designated sites or SSSI’s, and those wishing to release in these designated areas, and within a 500m buffer of these sites, would need to apply for a specific licence.
At this time it is understood that there would be no charge for such specific licences, unless applicants wish to release more than the recommended densities, in which case a cost-covering charge would be applicable.
The GWCT’s sustainable release guidelines can be found here and are based on peer-reviewed science. These guidelines are written in to The Code of Good Shooting Practice which is endorsed and supported by all the Countryside Organisations, and they underpin sustainable gamebird management in the UK.
The GWCT encourages members and those involved in game shooting across the whole of the UK to respond to the consultation, giving your views on NRW’s proposals to licence gamebird releasing in Wales.
When answering the questions within the consultation please give your reasoning behind your position, and consider whether you deem NRW’s proposals to be proportionate, workable and sustainable.
The consultation can be found here, and you can submit your response here.
GWCT recently published a blog explaining the importance of responding to such consultations here, and we will be publishing another blog with more details and guidance to aid your consultation response in the forthcoming days.