Yesterday I drove up to Wheldrake Ings to have a chat with the Countryfile crew (above, Charlotte Smith on right) about Wild Justice. I was listening to The Jam’s ‘News of the World’ just before I stopped at the Ferrybridge Services and saw this news of a Hen Harrier that died with its leg in…
Tag: Natural England
Costs
Let’s hear it for the Aarhus Convention! So, of £26k raised in double-quick time last spring (2018!) £5k goes in costs and the rest goes to my, our, legal team. And that also pays for the appeal which we are pursuing. This shows clearly what a great a deal I had from my, our, legal…
Looking forward to…
Natural England should be replying to Wild Justice’s Pre-Action Protocol letter over General Licence GL26 by 4pm today. Looking forward to seeing what they have to say.
Guest blog – Dewilding Basingstoke by Paul Sterry
Dewilding Basingstoke One thing leads to another. This all harks back to the saga of Basingstoke’s beleaguered Common Toads, a story that not only continues but also evolves. So as summer approaches, and all those young toadlets leave their breeding ponds, perhaps an alternative title for this blog might be ‘Toad Rage – metamorphosis’. To…
General Licence confusion
I’d written the following blog post before hearing that Defra are announcing new, or not so new, general licences overnight. Wild Justice will be looking carefully at these and consulting with our lawyers over the next few days. One of the things that has really struck me about the whole business of reforming the general…
The Common Pheasant – livestock or wild bird?
Wild Justice is challenging the General Licence GL26 issued by Natural England to authorise the killing of Carrion Crows to prevent serious damage to livestock. Natural England chose to include gamebirds with livestock such as lambs and piglets in this licence. The legal status of the Pheasant is complex and in this licence it appears…
Good news – 4 Hen Harrier nests in Bowland
The RSPB has just released the news that there are four Hen Harrier nests in the Forest of Bowland on the United Utilities estate. this area is managed for water resources with low intensity farming and low intensity grouse shooting. The Forest of Bowland is a large area with several intensive grouse moors within its…
Inglorious 12th
In two months time, on Monday 12 August, the grouse shooting season will open. This is a land use whose days are numbered. Intensive grouse shooting is underpinned by wildlife crime and that wildlife crime is widespread. Remember the long-term study of Peregrines across the north of England which shows that their numbers and nesting…
Wild Justice – further legal challenge
Wild justice, the not for profit company established by myself, Chris Packham CBE and Dr Ruth Tingay, has launched a new legal challenge to Natural England. Wild Justice, took a successful legal challenge against the general licences GL04, GL05 and GL06 which resulted in Natural England revoking those licences at very short notice, which caused…
New Natural England chair faces massive criticism on social media
Natural England’s new chair, my mate Tony Juniper, has been roundly criticised on social media for his support of Natural England’s licensing of brood meddling. Here is a selection of the comments to give you a flavour: To grant #broodmeddling licences to vested interests 4 one of England’s rarest breeding raptors on grounds that ‘if…