As long ago as 2014 I asked DEFRA: ‘What research has been done that addresses the range of ecological costs and benefits of rearing and releasing Pheasants for shooting? Does native wildlife benefit or is it harmed by Pheasant shooting? Does Defra have plans to do any such research?‘ https://markavery.info/2014/03/31/letter-mp-response-defra-2/ and they replied: ‘Defra has…
Category: REARED GAMEBIRDS
Gamebirds victory (9) – lead, another ignored factor.
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Lead ammunition was part of the Wild Justice legal challenge to DEFRA but DEFRA (and Natural England) tended to ignore it. I can see why, it’s a very difficult issue for them politically though very clear biologically. Just as readers of this blog think that Waitrose should deal with the issue of lead in the…
Gamebirds victory (8) – an unproven but potentially important impact
Here’s a dead Pheasant. Something will come along and eat it (although since it is surrounded (for a distance of far more than 500m in all directions) by grouse moor the density of scavenging birds and mammals might be quite low. A good bet for the destination of quite a lot of roadkill gamebirds is…
Gamebirds victory (7) – a very big pile of poo
The issue of the droppings of 60 million released gamebirds was not one that was large in my mind when I started thinking about Pheasants and Red-legged Partridges but that is because I am a blinkered ornithologist. What has emerged (see previous blog) is that those droppings are a great threat to many habitats: while…
Gamebirds victory (6) – there is no evidence?
Tim Bonner made an extraordinarily brash claim on Today on Saturday; There is no evidence whatsoever that Pheasant or Red-legged Partridge are doing any significant damage to these special sites. There is simply no evidence. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m000p0fj It is unlikely that DEFRA would have been forced to bring in regulation of gamebird releases (by Wild Justice’s…
Gamebirds victory (5) – writing to Wales
Today Wild Justice’s lawyers wrote to the Welsh government and asked them what are their plans in respect of gamebird releases in Wales in 2021.
Gamebirds victory (4) – what Tim Bonner said, and what he might have meant.
Tim Bonner is the gift that keeps on giving. In our little chat on Today (at 1hr 50mins into programme) on Saturday morning he said a couple of things that are worth examining in more detail. Here they are: There is no evidence whatsoever that Pheasant or Red-legged Partridge are doing any significant damage to…
Gamebirds victory (3) – another aspect of illegality
May I refer you to document EB2, page 116, section 4.2 of those released by DEFRA on Friday as part of their caving in to the Wild Justice legal challenge? Here it is: It’s only really the first sentence you need bother to read although the whole of sections 2 and 3 are worth looking…
Gamebirds victory (2) – how many gamebirds?
Wild Justice started its legal challenge of gamebird releases in July 2019. The latest published figures for gamebird releases of which we were aware were those by the GWCT in 2018 (Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust. 2018a. How many birds are shot in the UK? Game and Wildlife Review 2017: 41–42.) which referred to the…
Gamebirds victory (1) – what sort of victory?
On Today on Saturday morning (in the last 10 minutes of the programme) Mishal Husain described Wild Justice as a campaigning organisation, and we wouldn’t disagree with that, but our victory in this matter is not a campaigning victory it is a legal victory. We have not persuaded government to change their policy or the…