Defra will shortly publish an updated GL43 licence and guidance for 2025 for the release of gamebirds on and within 500m of areas that are Special Areas of Conservation (SACs), but not Special Protection Areas (SPAs). Defra Ministers have not approved general licence GL45 (SPAs and buffers) to be issued in 2025, as it is currently not possible to rule out the risk of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) (which remains very high) spreading to the bird features present on SPAs in 2025.
Defra has transferred responsibility to Natural England for individual licences for gamebird release. Natural England state that licence applications are only likely to be granted on a limited number of SPAs and will only consider applications on other SPAs (gamebird licensing bulletin here) in exceptional circumstances. An example would be ‘compelling evidence that there will be separation in time and/or space between gamebirds and SPA bird features'.
The licence application window is expected to open on the 22nd of April. We encourage game managers to consider applying for a licence, irrespective of which SPA they are in, if they can demonstrate a separation in time and/or space between designated species (e.g. stone curlew, hen harrier etc) and gamebird releases.
We also urge Natural England to revisit elements of the 'appropriate assessment', and to reconsider their position on game management activities. Scientific evidence demonstrates that game management activities, which are intrinsic to gamebird releasing, can contribute to the conservation of SPA bird features. The cessation of these activities could prove a greater risk to the future resilience of these SPA bird features than the risk of HPAI transmission. For example, if predation management is stopped in these areas, some ground nesting SPA features could suffer tremendous losses next spring.
Natural England can be contacted here: Gamebirds@naturalengland.org.uk. The GWCT advisory service can be contacted here: mgoodall@gwct.org.uk or rdraycott@gwct.org.uk. We will provide regular updates over the coming weeks.