The GWCT’s Big Farmland Bird Count (BFBC) is pleased to announce two events in Wales to help record what farmland birds are present at this time of year before the official count from February 5-14.
Thank you all that completed the GWCT General Licence consultation online. We had a great response in a short time over Christmas and we very much appreciate the time everyone took to complete it.
The men and women working hard to protect and conserve wild birds were dealt a boost today (18 January) as the High Court has ruled that Natural Resources Wales’ (NRW) General Licences are lawful. This came after a legal challenge by Wild Justice. The campaigning body, led by Mark Avery, Chris Packham and Ruth Tingay, argued that NRW ‘was not doing its job properly’.
GWCT Wales Director Sue Evans will be sharing the key findings from a new report into what game shooting means for Welsh people and the countryside at an online event taking place on Thursday 21 January.
The curlew population in Wales is believed to be down to an estimated 400 remaining pairs and could be extinct as a breeding population in Wales by 2033.
Rural organisations are reminding the shooting community of the importance of following the law and government guidance around Covid resitrctions in Wales. Following today’s further announcement by First Minister Mark Drakeford, restrictions are expected to remain in place until the next review on 29th January.
Read more >
“Over-winter supplementary feeding is one of a number of methods that can be easily implemented on farm and proven to successfully boost farmland bird winter survival,” according to Matt Goodall, Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT) Wales advisor. Funded by Natural Resources Wales Shared Outcome Request in North East Wales - one of seven Area Statements in Wales – this project aims to raise awareness of methods that can be easily implemented on farms to halt and reverse farmland bird declines.
Read more >
New research from the University of Northampton has provided a much clearer, evidence based picture of the social impact of participation in driven game shooting (DGS) in the UK. Dr Tracey Latham-Green, who had never previously been involved in any form of game shooting, field sports or activities opposed to these pastimes, completed the PhD study between 2017 and 2020.
Read more >
With a different Welsh farming policy on its way as the Basic Payments Scheme and Glastir are phased out, it's a good time to start assessing your farm to see what potential it can offer to attract future environmental payments once they have been decided, says GWCT Wales.
Read more >
Lee Oliver joins the growing GWCT Wales team as project manager. He immediately starts with the Elwy Valley Sustainable Management Scheme (SMS) project - a landscape scale initiative involving 70 landowners and managers - covering an area of 23,500 hectares in Denbighshire and part of Conwy.
Read more >
All are seen as a collaborative response to what is known as the Natural Resources Policy, published by the Welsh Government in 2017, which sets out the key challenges and opportunities for the sustainable management of Wales’ natural resources into the future.
Read more >
In accordance with the new AIHTS legislation which came into effect on Wednesday 1st April, NRW have published two general licences for stoats; to protect livestock and to conserve wild birds.
Read more >
With over 73 different farms throughout Wales participating in the citizen science initiative, spotting more than 90 different bird species last month, Sue Evans director of the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust Wales is keen to keep the momentum going.
Read more >
Don’t stop feeding your farmland birds now the shooting season has ended, was the unequivocal message by Sue Evans, GWCT Wales director, talking at at Central Association of Agricultural Valuers, rural economy conference in Llandrindod last month.
Read more >
John & Sarah Yeomans, who farm at Llwyn y Brain, Adfa near Newtown are firm believers that productive livestock farming and conservation have always gone hand in hand.
Read more >
More birdlife than ever, is how Hedd Pugh describes bird numbers on his beef and sheep farm in the Cwm Cywarch valley of south Snowdonia in Dinas Mawddwy, near Machynlleth last Friday at the Big Farmland Bird Count launch.
Read more >
Whooper Swan, Little Egret, Stockdove, Siskin, Redpoll, Bullfinch, Buzzard and Red Kite were amongst a list of birds that were seen at Cruglas Farm, which hosted the first NFU sponsored GWCT Wales Big Farmland Bird Count.
Read more >
Brian Bowen is the Farmers' Union of Wales Vice President for mid-Wales. He has a 230 suckler breeding herd and over 1200 sheep which grazes the three commons that surround his farm in Blaenau Gwent, South East Wales.
Read more >
There are several Big Farmland Bird Count ID workshops taking place across Wales which aim to get farmers and other wildlife enthusiasts ready and up to speed with bird identification before the official 10-day count period from 7-16 February.
Read more >
GWCT’s three-legged stool approach - habitat management, predator control and supplementary feeding – are the key ingredients needed to reverse the decline in farmland birds in just three years, according to GWCT Wales director Sue Evans.
Read more >
GWCT Wales says the future design of Welsh farming schemes need to be all-inclusive with an appropriate light touch inspection approach.
Read more >
Two sporting heroes and an award-winning chef are attending a dinner to raise vital funds for the GWCT. Taking part in a Q&A with guests at Porth Eirias restaurant in Colwyn Bay on Monday 11 November are Sir Gareth Edwards CBE, Lynn Davies CBE and Bryn Williams.
Read more >
Today’s State of Nature 2019 report is a damning reflection of how our biodiversity in Wales continues to decline. With 17% of species in Wales threatened with extinction the report states loss of habitat as a root cause and blames farming and climate change.
Read more >
NATURAL Resources Wales has announced new General Licences in Wales will be introduced on October 7th – but GWCT cannot support them.
Read more >
MAJOR rural organisations have joined forces to warn Natural Resources Wales (NRW) of the catastrophic consequences that a proposed change to the General Licence could have on wild birds.
Read more >
FIREFIGHTERS from South Wales Fire Service spoke at a fire awareness day, organised by the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT), at Ruabon Mountain on 1 August.
Read more >
THE biodiversity benefits of a shoot in Monmouthshire were pointed out during a walk by an advisor from the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT) Wales.
Read more >
PROVIDING habitat, food and protection – known as the three-legged stool approach – could help our ground-nesting birds thrive in Wales, according to leading research organisation the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT).
Read more >
ECOLOGICAL aspirations can be extremely challenging for dairy farmers but increasing the songbird population alongside profitable farming is achievable, according to the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT) Wales.
Read more >
Curlew have arrived on a Welsh moor that is conserved by the Powys Moorlands Partnership (PMP) project.
Read more >
GWCT Wales has spoken out over the continual declines in water quality and depleted fish stocks across Wales, which is now at a record low.
Read more >
GWCT Wales has spoken out over the continual declines in water quality and depleted fish stocks across Wales, which is now at a record low.
Read more >
Farmer and conservationist Terry Mills hosted a bird count at his farm in Cruglas, near Swyddffynon in Ceredigion to mark the start of this year’s Big Farmland Bird Count.
Read more >
With wildlife declining in Wales at an alarming rate, an advisor for GWCT says there is still hope.
Read more >
GWCT Wales is calling for more people to support the good work being done in the Welsh countryside, which is losing biodiversity at an alarming rate.
Read more >
Welsh Environment Minister Hannah Blythyn has made the wrong decision to ban pheasant shooting, according to a new poll. Results from a survey carried out by fastmap show that out of 1,000 Welsh people asked whether they would like pheasant shooting to continue in Wales, 61% responded yes.
Read more >
The Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT) Cymru will be hosting three winter events in North Wales to promote the scientific research carried out over the past 80 years needed to underpin sustainable conservation practice in the future.
Read more >
SIMPLE, voluntary and highly-inclusive is how GWCT Cymru sees future direction for land management schemes in Wales post-Brexit.
Read more >
GWCT Wales has written a letter for its members to use when requesting a meeting with their Assembly Members regarding Natural Resources Wales’ (NRW) decision to ban pheasant shooting on land owned by the Welsh Government Woodland Estate.
Read more >
Natural Resources Wales' decision to ignore their own findings over shooting on its land is truly bizarre and is a blow to wildlife and those who work in rural Wales to protect it.
Read more >
A well-attended shoot walk round the grounds of Usk Castle was held by the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust Cyrmu (GWCT) on 21 June.
Read more >
A rallying cry to halt shocking wildlife declines in the countryside was made to members of the Welsh Assembly from conservationists at GWCT Wales.
Read more >
The Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT) Cymru welcomes the evidence-based proposals for shooting on land managed by Natural Resources Wales (NRW).
Read more >
With over 150 people present, Sir Gareth Edwards thrilled guests regaling colourful tales of playing for Wales and the British Lions during his rugby career which started 50 years ago.
Read more >
The very first Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust Cymru newsletter has been published and is now available to download..
Download here >
The Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT) Cymru has announced that former Welsh rugby union player Sir Gareth Edwards will be the guest speaker at its annual dinner and auction in North Wales this November.
Read more >
Although we continually question the true meaning of sustainability, Hendre Llwyn Y Maen in Denbighshire is a farm that oozes an abundance of richness in nature.
Read more >
We are proud to announce the launch of Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust Wales, which aims to raise awareness of conservation and game management across the country.
Read more >
The Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT) is delighted to announce the winner of the Welsh Fantastic Four Shoot Raffle, which has raised £15,000 for its vital scientific research.
Read more >
GWCT appoints a new director in Wales
Sue Evans has been appointed director at the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust Cymru (GWCT Cymru).
Read more >
https://www.gwct.org.uk/news/news/2019/may/increasing-songbird-population-is-achievable,-says-gwct/