On 4 September Defra launched a call for evidence on gamebird shooting, citing in a press release that it “Gamebird shooting is a long established part of rural life, supporting many jobs, businesses and communities across England. Thriving rural communities and a healthy natural environment go hand in hand, and the call for evidence will help build a fuller understanding of its wider impacts, whilst recognising the important role the sector plays in rural communities”.
The call for evidence sits within the context of the Land Use Framework, published in March 2026, and the Animal Welfare Strategy, published last December, and seeks to gather evidence on gamebird rearing, releasing, and shooting. Defra have stated that no decisions on any policy changes have yet been taken. We would expect, if any changes are subsequently proposed, there to be a public consultation prior to the introduction of primary of secondary legislation.
Key topics Defra is seeking evidence on include:
- Positive and negative impacts of gamebird activities on biodiversity
- Positive and negative impacts of gamebird activities on protected sites and habitats
- Links between gamebird activities and diseases such as HPAI, and how best practice can influence this
- Links between gamebird activities and bird of prey crime
- How compliant gamebird rearing and release is with animal welfare standards
- How many gamebirds are shot, enter the food chain, or go to waste
- Links between gamebird activities and use of lead shot, medicated products, pesticides, and other impacts
- What proportion of pheasants, partridges, and mallards are bred or imported (including eggs), and for what purpose they are reared (e.g., for your own breeding or for sale to third parties)
- How pheasants, partridges, and mallards are housed, including the size and number of housing units, what enrichment is provided, and the ratio of males to females
- How common health and welfare plans are, and what animal husbandry information is recorded regularly including common causes of death, such as issues with parasites, disease, weight, lameness, and behavioural problems
- Evidence that the current statutory codes of practice are sufficient or insufficient for protecting the welfare of gamebirds
Our gamebird experts and policy teams are currently pulling together over 25 years of data and peer-reviewed, published evidence on the management of released gamebirds, in preparation for submitting a thorough response to this call for evidence. We are also pleased to have arranged for several visits for policymakers to the shoot at our demonstration farm, The Allerton Project, to help explain best practice shoot management and how it can deliver for nature.
Alongside this, we are also drafting detailed guidance for members and supporters who may wish to submit evidence to the call to evidence themselves. We expect to be able to publish this in the next fortnight and would encourage supporters to consider submitting evidence, particularly based on their own experience running or managing shoots. We know from projects such as the Big Farmland Bird Count, the National Gamebag Census, and the Partridge Count Scheme that evidence from practitioners can amass to large amounts of useful data. It is our view that evidence submitted by shoots themselves could help to fill some evidence gaps, and help demonstrate the scale of good practice.
Ahead of our published guidance, there are some key points to be aware of:
- The call for evidence is open until 1 November
- While the call for evidence is for England only, evidence gathered elsewhere that is relevant to the situation in England will be welcomed
- Evidence could be: peer-reviewed science, grey literature such as reports and working papers, official statistics, monitoring data, or operational or experiential evidence.
- The Defra Gamebirds Team is available for support and questions at Gamebirds@defra.gov.uk
The call for evidence can be viewed in full on Defra's website.