June

The GWCT policy team has briefed MPs ahead of the parliamentary debate triggered by the Wild Justice petition to ban driven grouse shooting. The petition gained more than 100,000 signatures required to prompt a debate, which will take place on Monday 30 June.

Yesterday’s Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR) announcement took even the most optimistic of us by surprise - we really were expecting it would signal a farewell to the Cowslips. The Treasury have committed further funding to support nature on farms at a time when the mood music from government was that nature was less important and must come second to development. 

Defra informed stakeholders and the public in April that it would not be re-issuing GL45, the general licence to release gamebirds on or near (500m buffer) SPAs. This decision was made due to current levels of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) and the inability to rule out the risk of it spreading to the bird features present on SPAs. Instead, those wanting to release gamebirds onto SPAs or their buffers must seek an individual licence from Natural England.