In 2020, Wild Justice won a significant legal challenge against Defra, forcing it to introduce a licensing scheme for the release of gamebirds (Pheasants & Red-legged Partridges) on or near Natura 2000 sites (see here).
In March this year, Defra announced that it would not be issuing General Licence 45 (GL45 – the licence under which restricted numbers of gamebirds can be released on or within 500m of Special Protection Areas) in 2025 because:
“It is currently not possible to rule out the risk of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) (which is currently very high) spreading to the bird features present on SPAs”.
That was a very sensible, precautionary decision by Defra. Protecting internationally significant bird populations is of far greater national importance than the unsustainable release of ~60 million non-native Pheasants and Red-legged Partridges by those who want to get their kicks from shooting them.
Natural England (now responsible for individual licences) went further, and on 14 April 2025 it advised the gamebird shooting industry that although they could still apply for individual licences for 2025 gamebird releases on or close to SPAs, some licences would only be permitted with a delayed release date for the poults, whereas licences for many other SPAs would be unlikely to be issued at all:
Natural England told the shooting industry that applications for individual licences could be made from 22 April 2025 and that NE aimed to determine applications within 15 working days.
Again, setting aside the absurdity of the statutory nature advisor giving permission to release millions of non-native gamebirds in to the countryside, NE’s advice to the shooting industry about limitations to individual licences was all very sensible in light of the heightened Avian Flu risk, and it gave the shooting industry plenty of time to adjust its plans for the 2025/26 shooting season.
Predictably, the shooting industry went into meltdown, with BASC claiming on 15 April 2025:
“The approach taken by Natural England risks jobs and will have a huge impact on rural economies, not to mention the conservation benefits that sustainable shooting delivers for species and habitats.
“These new restrictions risk bringing large parts of the countryside to a standstill. While we recognise the need to manage the risk of avian influenza, the damage to the countryside could be irreparable. The government should commit to revisiting licensing decisions as the risk of AI dissipates“.
Two months later on 13 June 2025, BASC announced it had started legal proceedings against Defra’s decision not to issue GL45 for the 2025/26 shooting season.
BASC has submitted a Pre-Action Protocol (PAP) letter, apparently on the basis that “Defra has still not provided the formal reason behind it or published a detailed decision-making document“.
The timing of BASC’s PAP letter appears to be just within the three-month time limit for bringing judicial review proceedings, but it’s not clear to me what the specific legal basis of the claim is, nor the remedy BASC is seeking. It looks more like a grandstanding exercise to appease BASC members, but I guess time will tell.
Meanwhile, back in the real world, it turns out that Defra’s precautionary decision not to issue GL45 this year due to the high risk of avian influenza was absolutely spot on.
Since 11 June 2025, there have been five outbreaks of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (H5N1) and protection zones have been established at all five premises, including one which is believed to be a commercial gamebird rearing facility.
The five current outbreaks are as follows:
11 June 2025 – near Ravensthorpe, Kirklees, West Yorkshire. Centred on grid ref: SE2206919016.
17 June 2025 – near Stanhope, Bishop Auckland, County Durham. Centred on grid ref: NZ0336936829.
20 June 2025 – near Linton-on-Ouse, Wetherby & Easingwold, North Yorkshire. Centred on grid ref: SE5024159461.
24 June 2025 – near Glyn Ceirlog, Wrexham. Centred on grid ref: SJ1591333699.
24 June 2025 – near Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire. Centred on grid ref: SM8938621496.
Avian Influenza isn’t going away, and it’s not even peak season for outbreaks of this highly contagious notifiable disease (typically autumn/winter). As little faith as I have in Defra, I can’t see Ministers making a U-turn on its decision to withdraw GL45 this year, legal challenge or not.
UPDATE 31 July 2025: Four more Bird Flu outbreaks confirmed, including on a Pheasant shoot – yet selfish BASC starts another legal challenge against Govt restrictions on gamebird releases (here).
Raptor Persecution UK 
I have just seen a report that Bird Flu in humans in Cambodia is at its highest ever level. Though not immediately relevant to Bird Flu in this country, it could become so if a more transferable version arrived. As with Covid, it keeps mutating so anything is possible and stable doors and horses always spring to mind!
There should never have been a licence to release in or close to SPAs anyway or for that matter any SSSI.
This whole issue absolutely nails the lie that BASC is concerned with “conservation” or the well-being of the ecology of the land.
Avian flu is a grave threat, not just to wild birds, but to humans. Their appeal is based on nothing but the financial viability of their hobby of shooting stuff for fun.
It should be dismissed out of hand by DEFRA and EN. But of course, it won’t be.
I think that it just shows that the “Conservation” in BASC is the conservation of their right to kill with impunity without any sense of responsibility to anyone but their members – and certainly not the conservation of habitats and native wildlife.
Back when the first major HPAI outbreaks occurred a disgusted gamekeeper told me that, despite the prevalence of HPAI in their release pens their management instructed them to release the birds regardless. This was in the Braydon Forest area of north Wiltshire. I am not naming them, there are a dozen shoots spread around the area.
this is the only conservation BASC is interested in
https://0ld.basc.org.uk/?wysija-page=1&controller=email&action=view&email_id=1859&wysijap=subscriptions&user_id=129510
I would like to read what BASC mean and to explain when they state, as quoted, above: ‘not to mention the conservation benefits that sustainable shooting delivers for species and habitats.’
How the hell does their killing of birds for fun count as conservation? When they are introducing the unsustainable release of ~60 million non-native Pheasants and Red-legged Partridges, which surely, is doing more to cause huge problems to our indigenous wildlife, especially our bird populations? Especially with the very high risk of avian flu?
BASC are beyond belief and are only interested in their own murdersome interests, killing those poor birds – seeing the very poor state they are in just before release it would appear they wouldn’t fly very far or fast – and any wildlife that gets in the way, be it mammal or bird. Their name, to me, is a misnomer
To be clear, I am not supporting those nincompoops at BASC, but I think their point is that they maintain grouse moors etc, which is good for all sorts of native species. That is true. The shooting of game birds has nothing to do with the conservation argument. Obviously there are many other things their members do which are not good.
Don’t pile on to me about this, but we need to acknowledge and understand BASC’s points, particularly where they may be correct, if we are going to win the arguments. Simply yelling that they are evil and wrong is self defeating.
BASC are definitely not evil. And in their partial defence they are necessarily subservient to stronger forces within the shooting industry that are beyond their influence. But IMO they are guilty of being disengenous and having a lack of balls to do what at least several of their paid officers know is the right thing. They are force-feeding a few modest bits of truth with a hell of a lot of manure – and trying to maintain a well crafted canopy of cover to camouflage and diminish the rotten stuff beneath, rather than tackle it. Speaking as an ex-member, I class them as considered strategic deniers, distractors and obfuscators of the endemic wildlife crime that goes on within the shooting industry and I therefore tend to distrust them.
what about all the birds of prey that have had confirmed avian flu?
The raptor species in which cases of Avian Flu have been confirmed are all native species, and are not released in their tens of millions every year, like non-native Pheasants and Red-legged Partridges. But you know that already, don’t you, Mr smith with a small s.
About time there was some common sense used by Defra. For far too long these morons who claim to care about countryside and conservation have done the complete opposite and destroyed it either by hunting or shooting. I hope this barbaric practice is finally put to an end.
Well said Gisela there is no responsibility taken by anyone they don’t care about anything the wrong people in the wrong jobs .
While in Wales there’s no licensing at all in spite of running a consultation since when everything has gone quiet. What are the Welsh Government messing around at? Someone needs to legally challenge them please.
I’m sorry but I don’t tend to trust anything about an organisation that is pro killing animals for fun.
ridiculous rules, the birds are bred in captivity so will not have avian flu, another way of woke townies spoiling the countryside and employment just to be spiteful.
Is this a spoof post? Or are you genuinely ignorant/dishonest? If the latter, a simple search for the phrase “Avian flu cases in captive bred birds” reveals the stupidity of your comment.