GWCT News Blog

Those who control carrion crow, magpie and jackdaw in Wales, for conservation or to prevent serious agricultural damage, need to be aware of the changes being implemented in the new general licences being issued on the 1^st of July 2022.

Results from The Big Farmland Bird Count 2022 are in; how did Wales fare in the ninth annual Big Farmland Bird Count?

Every year, there is a day dedicated by the United Nations to raising awareness of the importance of biodiversity across the world. This is the International Day for Biological Diversity (IDB for short), which is held on 22^nd May.

Exciting plans for the first ever GWCT Welsh Game Fair, which will be held at a historic country estate in North West Wales in September, were unveiled at a reception attended by more than 80 invited guests on Wednesday 18^th May. 

Nick Williams OBE very sadly died on 17th April 2022 aged 74. He was a committed GWCT trustee since July 2016 and also our first chairman in Wales. Here colleagues and friends share their fond memories of Nick.

On the evening of Monday 4th April, the newly formed GWCT South West Wales Committee held their first event courtesy of Dr Nick Fox and the Beavis Trust to visit their conservation focused 300-acre farm near Carmarthen and their lakes which are home to a beaver population.

On March 24th the NRW board met and voted in favour of approving several changes to the General Licences. The major change will see magpie, jackdaw and jay all removed from GL 004 – ‘Licence to kill or take certain wild birds for the purpose of conserving wild birds’ when the current licence expires after the 30th of June and the new licences are issued on the 1st of July.

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.