Wild Justice’s successful legal challenge over the General Licences is the third legal challenge in which I have been involved against this statutory agency in just over a year.
First there was my legal challenge of the brood-meddling licence that NE issued in early 2018. As regular readers will know, this case was contested by Natural England and we all spent three days in court, two before Christmas and another in January this year, in front of Mrs Justice Lang. She found against us, and against the RSPB’s separate but in many ways similar case. I am appealing that decision (and so is the RSPB) and so I won’t comment further. We are playing extra time (I guess we are a goal down but we are hoping that the video referee will reverse the decision).
Also last year, as an individual, I started a legal challenge against Natural England’s Habitats Regulations Assessment involving a proposed track across a protected wildlife site in West Yorkshire. Natural England had to concede that it had carried out an unlawful assessment, and when it carried out a proper one it had to reverse its previous view and object to the planning application (see also Wuthering moors 81), and the planning application was later withdrawn. This Walshaw Moor case showed that Natural England had not properly carried out its statutory duties in protecting habitats – a major part of Natural England’s reason for existing.
And as a co-director of Wild Justice, with Ruth Tingay and Chris Packham, we have shown that Natural England has been operating an unlawful licensing system for bird killing which Natural England finally acknowledged last week. Species protection is a major plank of nature conservation and Natural England is the statutory agency with responsibility for nature conservation in England.
And today’s news of an SNH climb down on allowing Ravens to be killed for an ill-conceived experiment on grouse moors in Scotland (a case in which I wasn’t involved – except as a supporter) fits into the same pattern of a statutory agency initially failing to do its job properly for nature.
Both SNH and NE have slipped up, very badly, in doing their jobs for nature conservation. The brood-meddling case, under appeal, is an example of NE getting dragged into a stupid project (whether or not the Court of Appeal finds it unlawful, it is still stupid) which it should not have touched with a bargepole. Walshaw Moor was a major and very serious error by Natural England, and I believe that NE folded to pressure in making that error, over protecting habitats of the highest importance. SNH left its own scientific reputation in tatters and its conservation credentials too, when it allowed experimental culling of Ravens to proceed in a manner that was scientifically hopelessly flawed. And now NE has been shown to have operated an unlawful licensing regime for decades which will have ‘authorised’ millions of bird deaths.
What do these cases have in common? They are all cases where the statutory agency wrongly put themselves on the side of fieldsports and landowning interests instead of standing up for nature.
Wildlife can’t fight legal cases – but we can. And the last year shows that we can win them too.
Who is ‘we’? Well, it has been me, a couple of times, and it has been Ruth Tingay and the Scottish Raptor Study Group, and most recently it has been Wild Justice (Ruth Tingay, Chris Packham and me). But all these cases have been funded by hundreds of supporters – maybe you? So ‘we’ really is all of us. We may well do more of this together in future.
[registration_form]
Is it true that Michael Gove is taking the licensing of shooting so-called problem birds away from NE & handing it to DEFRA?
Carole – rumoured. Not a bad idea in some ways – it makes it far clearer that this is under political control (and responsibility).
Ouch. No. As Wild Justice has demonstrated, it’s a matter of law. No sensible SoS would double their troubles by doing that. (Just to be clear, legally Ministers can’t ‘hand it to Defra’, there is no Defra that is not the Minister, so in fact the proposition would be something like ‘Ministers taking back direct control of licence issuing.’ Gove in particular must surely see that as bonkers.
Mark,
Like you, I think all who support these legal challenges are involved. It is an ever-rising ground swell of people who care about the environment and wildlife and want to enact changes. I have given financial support to a couple of your legal challenges, as well as others on crowdjustice. With each appeal I learn a little more about the impotence of sections of UK environmental law and its capacity to enforce the ‘rules’. With each legal test I feel ‘we’ are empowered to challenge those who hide behind the law because of the cost of testing it. Collectively we can remove smoke-screens and spotlight real issues. Each case also raises further awareness of the issues amongst the wider public as case are reported, even if some of the coverage and responses are abhorrent. Keep up the great work you, Chris and Ruth are spearheading with Wild Justice. ‘We’ are all behind you.
Taking licencing away from DEFRA and giving it to NE wasn’t a good idea and even less so when major cuts came along. Staff reductions led to experienced people being shed and fewer able to process licences. I heard that a couple of years ago there were only 1/2 with Great Crested Newt expertise leading to significant delays. NE doesn’t need the hassle of licencing .
We’re in a time of good citizen science and it now seems we can operate as citizen watchdogs too. Very grateful thanks to all who take the front line and bear the brunt of the backlash. It has been good to be involved in the ranks, to support and to be kept in the picture. We have all been shocked, astounded, irate and angry at times, depressed or heartened at other times. We have all learnt a great deal along the way and have had opportunity to vent our feelings and thoughts through comment here and on RPUK. We have established contact with our MP’s and bent the ear of many a friend, relative, and fellow traveller along the way. We have far greater understanding of the manner in which things have come about and far from conspiracy theory, many of our hunches have been proved correct. So every word expressed, every contribution to funding the effort has been so worthwhile and it clearly points the way forward. We have seen more of the most unpleasant side of human nature and realise the gross misunderstandings which underpin a section of Countryside users and abusers. Care and caution will be needed in moving forward and choosing where and when to act but the past results have proved such good steps in the right direction.
Mike – thank you very much
Mike that’s a really great comment, thank you so much for it.
In Scotland, I question whether the statutory agencies are the only ones who are fit for purpose. The RSPB asked in Legal Eagle 82 in August 2017 “Is the Scottish criminal justice system fit for purpose?” In my petition PE1705 I have suggested that the system is fit for purpose, it is only the implementation that is not fit for purpose, nor is it fit for the 21st Century. One of my submissions for the petition says, not talking about an issue in dispute, before suggesting a necessary change: “Protecting wildlife is something that requires the involvement of the general public if it is to be effective. Indeed, protecting the natural environment is a legitimate concern to the public, and such protection should not be stifled by the limitations of the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 where the wildlife in question is in a public place.”
The similarities with the cases you have taken up is remarkable, with (according to you and me) a public body not doing it’s job in accordance with the law. My petition will likely drag on for some time, and my work on it is very much ongoing. I just wish it could be settled in such short timescales as you have achieved, and with such success.
Not fit for purpose by design. Local governors will now have direct contr… Sorry, that was Star Wars. It should be, Local Landowners and Rich Bastards will now have direct control over their territories. We’re rushing back to feudalism at a horrifying rate. Huh, I guess it is the same as Star Wars then, except no magic space wizards to save us.