Some good news for birds of prey! DEFRA has endorsed Natural England’s recommendations for a presumption AGAINST the issuing of licences for taking birds of prey from the wild for falconry and aviculture.
A licensing policy review was undertaken by Natural England following the furore in 2020 when NE issued licenses for the removal of young peregrines from the wild for a purported captive-breeding programme.
That news had generated heated arguments both for and against the licences, as reported on Mark Avery’s blog (e.g. see here, here and here). In 2022 NE said that although licences had been issued in 2020, ‘the licenses expired earlier this year with no chicks having been taken‘. It’s not clear why the licences weren’t used.
In 2022, licences to take birds of prey from the wild were temporarily suspended whilst NE began a fairly comprehensive licensing policy review which included a public consultation with wide stakeholder engagement from the falconry and non-falconry communities. Natural England has published links to various reports resulting from the consultation process, here.
The species most frequently mentioned by those wanting to take birds from the wild for falconry purposes were peregrine (58%), sparrowhawk (58%), merlin (22%) and goshawk (10%). One individual falconer respondent mentioned buzzard and golden eagle. However, many falconer and non-falconer respondents considered the latter two species to be unsuitable for inclusion in a future wild take licensing regime. In the case of golden eagles, it was stated that this was due to their rarity in England. Many falconers also considered merlin to be unsuitable for inclusion due to their rarity.
The consultation process included detailed evidence from the National Wildlife Crime Unit (NWCU) about the increase in the legal and illegal trade in peregrines, both for the domestic and international market, and how licensed ‘wild take’ may add to the problem.
Many of you will be familiar with Operation Tantallon, the recent successful multi-agency investigation leading to the subsequent prosecution and conviction of two peregrine launderers in south Scotland who were selling wild Scottish peregrines to wealthy falconers in the Middle East (see here).
The scale of their offending was considerable and I heard at a wildlife crime conference earlier this week that many more cases are currently under investigation as a result of Operation Tantallon.
In October 2023 Natural England’s ‘wild-take’ licensing review came to an end and drew the following conclusions:
- Wild take is not integral to the present-day practice of falconry or aviculture in England. Few modern falconry texts define falconry as involving the use of ‘wild’ birds of prey and there are limited historical references to the cultural importance of wild take or of wild-taken birds to British falconers. No clear consensus exists within the falconry community or in the available falconry literature regarding the cultural importance of wild take as a core aspect of falconry practice.
- Despite rapid growth in the popularity of falconry in recent decades, the available evidence suggests that there are sufficient birds of the relevant species readily available – via captive populations – to meet current demand. There is no evidence of significant inbreeding risks in these captive populations and captive-bred birds are generally considered to perform to a similar standard as wild birds when used for falconry purposes.
- Most non-falconers are opposed to licenced wild take on ethical grounds and have concerns regarding the potential impacts of falconry and wild take on the conservation and welfare of the species affected. Both falconers and non-falconers are supportive of additional measures to ensure that individuals keeping birds of prey have suitable experience in caring for such birds.
- Few respondents to the public call for evidence expressed a desire to gain commercially from wild take. However, risks identified relating to the illegal trade in birds of prey nevertheless suggest a need for strict controls on commercial use of such birds alongside improved traceability and other measures to be taken forwards by the responsible agencies. Difficulties in tracing individual birds under current arrangements mean there is a credible risk that the offspring of a wild bird taken under licence could be illegally laundered via commercial breeding operations into the domestic and international trade.
On the basis of the above conclusions, Natural England put forward the following recommendations to DEFRA in late 2023 and advised that a clear policy statement should be published for England setting out the following:
- That licences permitting the wild take of native birds of prey for falconry or avicultural purposes should not be issued other than in exceptional circumstances;
- That the commercial use of native birds of prey taken from the wild under a licence issued for falconry or avicultural purposes – and any offspring of such birds –should not be permitted other than in exceptional circumstances; and,
- That the power to grant licences remains on statute, with the adopted policy (as above) subject to future evidence-based review as required.
These are the recommendations that DEFRA has now endorsed and has implemented the policy of a presumption AGAINST issuing licences to take wild birds of prey for falconry and aviculture.
Natural England has stated that, ‘Whilst the power to grant licences will remain on statute, Defra ministers support the view that licences should not be issued, other than in exceptional circumstances. No evidence was provided during the review process that would support the issuing of licences for any specific exceptional circumstances at the present time‘.
There’s a useful Natural England blog on the subject, here.
For those interested in Natural England’s policy review, it can be read/downloaded here:
From my personal point of view, this is an excellent decision and is good news for birds of prey in England.
I’ve previously outlined my reasons, here.
Raptor Persecution UK 
wonderful, absolutely Wonderful!
agree with you Scott wonderfull news , ialso think crimes against raptors such as egg theft & poisoning should carry possible jail & loss of shooting on land .
Great news. It should be backed up by stiffer sentences for those who take and indeed kill our wildlife
As a falconer I have no problem with this and agree with the report. Although if done properly and with the right controls I do not think it would impact negatively on bird of prey populations.
The problem is that it would not be done properly due to insufficient funding and lack of proper attention to the issuing and monitoring. This would have to include detailed assessment of the wild populations and potential impact of the harvest to the extent it satisfied the conservation side. But then nothing will alleviate the emotive feelings against it. I can’t see this all this happening. As can be seen with the lack of checks that are made on the problems in the shooting industry where the impact on the populations are going to be far greater.
I do have a problem with the imbalance in the way DEFRA/ Natural England treat falconers and bird of prey keepers compared to game shooting activities in both legislation and sentencing. And I’m not asking for less for falconry and aviculture.
The rigour of this DEFRA response should be duplicated in respect of driven grouse shooting licenses, general license restrictions, lead shot and game bird release etc.
One law for the ………
[Ed: Thanks Tim but as you say, it’s off topic! Good suggestion though – I’ll try and write a separate blog about it, time permitting]
Yes Eric we still need to prosecute effectively and stop wildlife crime .
As a raptor lover, I can’t see ANY situation where wild take is justified. Having volunteered at ICBP, I met many falconers, and learned about many breeding and selling practices, by small and large operators. We need to accept that birds will be bred for commercial gain, so be up to the task of monitoring all movements. The continued persecution on grouse moors, etc is the area of illegality thay needs most attention, while regular falconers need some space for their hobby/pastime, and keep them on side to report any abuse of these stunning creatures.