The conservation campaign group Wild Justice has published a blog detailing the unlawful release of gamebirds (Pheasants & Red-legged Partridges) next to a protected site in Suffolk, along with multiple breaches of mandatory biosecurity legislation which was brought in to prevent the spread of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI, also known as Bird flu).
The release of non-native gamebirds on or within 500m of a Special Protected Area (SPA) currently requires an individual licence from Natural England, due to the very high risk of spreading HPAI.
A licence application was submitted to Natural England in April 2025 to release 2,450 non-native gamebirds (950 Pheasants + 1500 Red-legged Partridges) at Ramsholt, Suffolk, within the 500m boundary of the Deben Estuary SPA.
Natural England refused the licence on the grounds that “It was not possible to rule out adverse effects to the integrity of the Special Protection Area (SPA) from the proposed gamebirds releases within the SPA boundary and/or its 500m buffer zone”.
The same licence applicant submitted a further application in May 2025, but Natural England rejected this one, too.
Guess what happened next?
The shoot operator went ahead and released gamebirds within the 500m SPA buffer zone at Ramsholt! This is a criminal offence.
Not only that, whoever was in charge of the gamebird releases failed to comply with mandatory biosecurity measures (this is also a criminal offence), thus increasing the risk of spreading HPAI.
Suffolk Police investigated the unlawful releases and issued a Community Resolution Order (CRO) to the shoot operator. Gosh, that’ll learn ‘im!
Suffolk County Council Trading Standards department investigated the unlawful non-compliance with biosecurity regulations and issued the shoot operator with ‘verbal guidance’.
Apparently, the shooting days still went ahead.
Good grief.
The explanations provided to Wild Justice by the Police and by Trading Standards of why more serious enforcement measures weren’t pursued in this case are well worth reading on the WJ blog. They’re laughable, particularly the explanation provided by Suffolk Constabulary, who gave credence to the shoot operator’s claim that he was new to the shoot and was “not linked” to the licence applicant. I find that to be implausible, for all the reasons given on the WJ blog.
As well as uncovering criminal activity, this Wild Justice investigation has highlighted huge gaps in the regulatory approach. There’s no statutory monitoring of gamebird releases and compliance with biosecurity regulations at protected sites and no formal mechanism for detecting potentially harmful activities. This particular case was only uncovered thanks to an observant member of the public who noticed the gamebirds running around the site and had the knowledge and sufficient curiosity to notify Wild Justice.
How many more examples might there be across the country? I’m aware of several, not yet reported in the public domain (but watch this space).
Over the next few months, Defra will need to decide whether it will issue General Licence 45 for this year’s shooting season. This is the General Licence that permits the release of gamebirds on or within 500m of an SPA. Last year, Defra withdrew GL45 due to the high risk of spreading HPAI. Given the high number of reported HPAI outbreaks since Oct 2025 (84 at the time of writing), I anticipate Defra will not issue GL45 this year.
If that happens, then it will fall to Natural England to make decisions about issuing individual licences to permit the release of gamebirds on/close to SPAs. Last year, Natural England took a sensible and precautionary approach and refused licences at many sites (see here), although as we’ve seen, some shoot operators might think the law doesn’t apply to them and the consequences are so minimal it’s probably worth them taking the risk.
Wild Justice relies entirely on donations to undertake its work. If you think what it does is important, please consider making a donation here. To sign up to Wild Justice’s free newsletter to be the first to hear about its latest campaigns and legal challenges, please click here.
Raptor Persecution UK 
Poor birds potential horrible death for innocents however you look at it. Shooting needs to be banned completely and sooner the better. These people dont give a damn about anything except their own selfish ends and the rest are weaker in bite than a punctured rubber duck. Abolishment of them or otherwise bring in such serious penalties it stops this. We know they wont do either however because they are so pathetic. So banning all live shooting seems to solve all.
I thought our responsible custodians of nature, DEFRA and NE were trying to eradicate HPAI. How does that sit with issuing ‘just a few’ licences??
A Public Register is desperately needed, along with more accountability from NE…It’s actions are leading to the continuation of a hideous virus, the results of which I have seen near me ( Lancs).
Neither Suffolk Police nor Suffolk County Council Trading Standards appear to take Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza as seriously as they should. I dare say they are both completely out of their depth on such matters, and the fact that these are the organisations upon which the Government relies to enforce Natural England’s regulations spells continuing doom for our wildlife (and does next to nothing for halting/restricting the spread of this disease throughout UK commercial flocks either:-(
I wonder if the local MP is similarly ‘relaxed’ about HPAI, licenses and a total failure of biosecurity during a national disease emergency?
You have to take your hat off to Wild Justice who go to such lengths, when the very people who are paid handsomely by the taxpayer to do their job of enforcing regulations and thereby protecting both wildlife and commercial enterprises during a national emergency appear barely able to lift an eyebrow:-(