GWCT News Blog

In response to the conclusion of the legal challenge brought by Wild Justice against Defra regarding the issuing of licences for gamebird releases in the Deben Estuary and Breckland in 2023, The Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust has issued the following statement.

Our letter to The Guardian in response to Illegal bird of prey killings fall to lowest level in decade, but ‘true figure may be far higher’.

The small number of individuals committing these crimes undermine the reputation of the thousands of people doing wonderful work in our countryside, without whom we wouldn’t have the biodiversity, habitat, social cohesion and cultural traditions that so many of us cherish.

Read of letter featured in the Financial Times, written by our Chairman, Sir Jim Paice.

The GWCT’s Head of Education and Advisor for Wales and Northwest England, Matt Goodall, was invited on Jeremy Vine’s BBC Radio 2 show on 17 October to explain why the ban on all types of snare in Wales could be bad news for wildlife in the country. He was up against Shahinoor Alom, League Against Cruel Sports’ Public Affairs Officer in Wales.

You might have seen some headlines this week, such as this one, around the dismissal of our science. For those who missed it, here’s a quick summary.

While there is no doubt the impact of gamebird releasing on the spread of AI must be carefully assessed and monitoring ongoing it must be weighed against the considerable risk of withdrawing the General Licence.

“All wildlife benefits from….” my heart sinks every time I hear those words, because they are invariably wrong. They are usually followed with the word gamekeeping, or shooting, and whichever is chosen the resulting sweeping statement reveals a degree of fundamental ignorance about the impact of game management that our opponents see straight through.

Countryfile viewers were treated to a captivating glimpse into the world of nest monitoring during Sunday's episode.