GWCT News Blog

Following NRW’s consultation at the end of last year, this week we have been made aware of proposed changes to the General Licences in Wales. The GWCT is extremely disappointed with the proposed changes, which could be considered a worst-case scenario given the questions posed within the previous consultation.

In the latest Birds of Conservation Concern review, 14 of the 26 farmland birds in the UK have been assigned to the Red List¹. The reasons behind the declines in these species are numerous, however one of particular relevance to seed-eating birds in Wales is the loss of mixed farming. 

World Wetlands Day on the 2nd of February each year aims to raise awareness about wetlands; it also marks the anniversary of the Convention on Wetlands, an international treaty signed in 1971. The themes of this year’s awareness day are “Value”, “Manage” and “Restore”.

The GWCT’s Big Farmland Bird Count (BFBC) is pleased to announce a FREE collaborative online webinar on the 9th of February at 7pm to help record what farm birds are present at this time of year during the official count from February 4th - 20th. You can register for the FREE webinar here.

We are once again joining forces with the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT) to showcase the important role farmers play when it comes to looking after farmland birds.

The recent purchase of Pentwyn Farm by the Radnorshire Wildlife Trust has raised much discussion across farming communities where farms are being bought up by non-farming interests to plant trees or focus purely on biodiversity.

The plan, launching later this year, sets out how to avoid curlew becoming extinct as breeding bird in Wales by 2033 and the wider benefits to society, benefits for key species of conservation concern and benefits for climate change that flow from management for Curlew.

We respond to the recent decision taken by the Welsh Government to 'bring forward legislation to amend the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 to ban the use of snares and glue traps'.