Blogs

Deer can have big negative impacts on, but even if used short-term, deer fences pose a significant threat to capercaillie

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.

The Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust has been conserving the UK's wildlife for decades. But why do people join? Recently, we asked members for their stories about what made them join.

Aim to Sustain including GWCT as scientific advisors to the partnership, has written to the Secretary of State Thérèse Coffey calling for an urgent review of GL43, the gamebird releasing General Licence for protected sites and their buffers.

This month the Welsh Government has rejected amendments to the Agriculture (Wales) Bill to allow the licensed use of Humane Cable Restraints (HCRs) to protect breeding curlew. In response, Owen Williams, GWCT Chairman of Trustees, Wales, wrote to the Welsh Environment Minister Lesley Griffiths.

The Daily Telegraph recently reported that the RSPB is seeking contractors to undertake predation management as part of their efforts to protect curlews in Northern Ireland.

If shoots follow the Code and the Principles then a net biodiversity gain will be the result – that is surely what the RSPB want to see. 

That hedges are good for wildlife & the character of our countryside is already well recognised. However, few appreciate that their linear, three-dimensional structure also means they can capture carbon at twice the rate of woodland.

The plight of waders breeding in the UK is well known. All of our familiar species are in serious decline and we hear frequent warnings about local extinctions for some of them. Well known causes of decline are a loss of quality habitat due to changes in land use and intensified agricultural practices, and we are seeing increased losses of wader nests to a variety of predators.

Environmental organisations are calling for more land designations in their first annual progress report on the Government’s commitment to protect 30% of land and sea by 2030. However, designations in themselves will not achieve what they seek - the restoration of biodiversity.