GWCT News Blog

Defra has today (18 June) announced that six general licences for the control of wild birds will be reissued on a temporary basis ahead of new licences coming into force on 1 January 2021.

Natural England has now started issuing decisions in relation to applications for individual bird control licences for those circumstances which are not covered by the General Licences issued by Defra in January.

If you wish to control lesser black-backed gulls and herring gulls you only have until Sunday 15^th March to apply through Natural England.

Defra have announced that six general licences have been reissued for the control of wild birds. The licences have been reissued on a temporary basis ahead of new licences coming into force on 1 August 2020.

We received an email from Defra regarding General Licences in England and they have asked us to share it with our members and supporters.

On 3 February Wild Justice – the campaign group founded by Chris Packham, Mark Avery and Ruth Tingay – escalated their challenge of the use of General Licences in Wales. The group instructed its solicitors to write to Natural Resources Wales (NRW), claiming that “the 2020 Replacement Licences are in effect licences to cull without limit” and that the licences are unlawful.

Defra is currently reviewing the General Licensing system that operates in England. The GWCT developed a short survey which we encouraged our members who use General Licences to complete. 3000 users completed the survey and the report is available here.

After months of stakeholder engagement with Natural Resources Wales over General Licences, the Board decided on Thursday 19 September to support a proposal which the GWCT do not support.