Received today #500mmyth

I received this by email today. This is just the type of information that I hope it will be possible for individuals to submit to the DEFRA consultation on regulating gamebird releases which is promised (by DEFRA) for Monday. This letter has been edited to remove information that is personal or which would identify the…

GWCT fails to support DEFRA’s #500mmyth with any science

If the GWCT cannot conjure up a single scientific publication to support the 500m buffer zone for non-native gamebird releases near protected sites, and they can’t, then it seems that no-one can – read the Wild Justice blog here. DEFRA is planning to consult on the #500mmyth next week along with other aspects of the…

Stroll on Pheasants!

In the latest Shooting Times, gamekeeper Alex Keeble writes about the dubious practice of catching up gamebirds after the shooting season for captive breeding purposes. He advises caution as this is a potential source of diseased birds. Ahead of the expected DEFRA consultation on gamebird releases next week, this gamekeeper writes: You may think that…

Mountain Hares to be moved to Langholm by friendly gamekeepers?

The Scottish Gamekeepers Association say they plan to talk to the Langholm Initiative about returning Mountain Hares back to Langholm. The suggestion that this would involve up to 25,000 animals a year, the number that have been culled in recent years (2015 figure), are certainly exagerrated – but this ‘proposal’ looks more like a new…