Wild Justice have launched a legal challenge requiring the Government to assess the environmental impact of releasing pheasants and partridges into the countryside.
Teresa Dent CBE, chief executive of GWCT, has said in response:
“The GWCT has carried out detailed research (such as this study) that measured the effects of released pheasants and red-legged partridges on other wildlife and wildlife habitats.
Our aims were to provide a science-based approach to quantifying any negative effects of gamebird releasing and to develop solutions where these effects might occur.
We found that the releasing of lowland gamebirds can be done in a way that minimises or avoids negative effects on habitats and other wildlife, and maximises the potential of management practices associated with releasing to deliver broader biodiversity benefit.
These findings are published in our Guidelines for Sustainable Gamebird Releasing, and are enshrined in The Code of Good Shooting Practice.”