2026

As we move into the heart of the pheasant season, the next few weeks often offer the finest shooting of the year. But before you settle back into the rhythm of midwinter days, it’s worth considering one simple question: are your birds performing as well as they should?

Fungi flourished in more ways than one in 2025, with more global policies supporting the kingdom worldwide, as well as a booming year for fruiting bodies. Despite all this fungal success, there is still so much to learn and understand about their biology.

On 1 January 2026, Natural England issued new and updated General Licences for wild bird control. While the changes are largely light-touch, there are a number of practical differences that wildlife managers, gamekeepers and landowners need to be aware of, understand and factor into their planning for the year ahead.

In the previous piece, I explored how ant colonies resemble multicellular bodies. Here, I turn to my DPhil research, which investigated these ideas through comparative studies of social evolution.

NatureScot has issued new General Licences for 2026, which are in effect from 1 January to 31 December 2026. Wildlife managers operating under General Licences are required to understand the current licences and comply with their terms and conditions.