Category: News

Good news!

Further to Wednesday’s blog about an imminent call for evidence by Defra about the welfare aspects of gamebird breeding, and confusion about whether this would also include gamebird releases and licences to shoot, there is now clarification that the evidence review will consider ALL aspects of gamebird rearing, release and shooting.

Defra Minister Sue Hayman (Baroness Hayman of Ullock, Parliamentary Under-Secretary) issued a written statement about it yesterday, as follows:

GAMEBIRD CALL FOR EVIDENCE

As set out in the Land Use Framework and the Animal Welfare Strategy for England, the Government committed to strengthening the evidence base on gamebird rearing, release and shooting in England.

I am today announcing that a Call for Evidence will launch on 4 September 2026 as the next step in delivering that commitment.

Gamebird rearing, release and shooting are established activities within rural land use and management. They can contribute to rural economies and land management, but their environmental, animal health, animal welfare and wider impacts are not yet fully understood. The Call for Evidence will gather information and evidence to improve understanding of both the positive and negative impacts associated with these activities.

The Call for Evidence will consider the rearing of gamebirds, the release of reared birds from captivity, associated shooting and land management activities, and impacts at local, regional and national level. It will seek evidence on biodiversity, protected sites and habitats, biosecurity and disease, bird of prey crime, animal welfare, use of natural resources, and other relevant environmental or social impacts.

Evidence gathered through this exercise will be carefully reviewed, including by independent external reviewers for information on release and shooting. This will support Defra’s understanding of these activities and their impacts and inform any future policy development. No decisions have been taken at this stage on whether to introduce any changes, and any future proposals would be subject to public consultation.

The Call for Evidence will be published on GOV.UK and will be open for responses until 1 November 2026.

ENDS

At the time of writing, the Call for Evidence has not yet been published but is expected later today, so the terms of reference are not yet clear. Defra is hosting a stakeholder webinar this morning to provide further details for those of us likely to participate, and also information about the response process.

I’ll blog more about this when things are clearer.

Update 5 September 2026: Defra’s Call for Evidence on all aspects of gamebird rearing, releasing and shooting is now open – this is your opportunity to be heard (here)

The UK Government is poised to open a public consultation on the welfare implications of the mass breeding of gamebirds, according to an article published by The Guardian this afternoon (see here).

This consultation has been anticipated, after the Labour Government included it in its Animal Welfare Strategy which was published in December 2025 (see here).

What isn’t clear, to me anyway, is whether this consultation also includes evidence-gathering for the option of licensing gamebird shooting and releases, which was promised separately in the Government’s Land Use Framework for England, published in March this year (see here).

Today’s article in The Guardian jumps seamlessly between the two issues and gives the impression of a single consultation covering both issues, rather than two separate consultations.

I couldn’t find any notice of a consultation on Defra’s website, so I guess the announcement is imminent and we’ll find out the extent of it when it’s actually published.

I was invited to provide a comment for The Guardian‘s piece today. I told the journalist that yes, there is plenty of evidence documenting the failure of animal welfare considerations for the mass breeding and rearing of gamebirds and it is definitely worthy of attention for the benefit of those individual birds. However, I also pointed out that addressing those welfare concerns was a bit like treating the symptoms but not the cause.

Putting an end to the rearing and annual release in to the countryside of an estimated 60 million non-native game birds for shooting should be the government’s focus. If they stopped that, then the associated welfare issues, as well as the many environmental issues and wildlife crimes associated with the gamebird shooting industry would also be sorted.

The Guardian article can be read here.

UPDATE 4 September 2026: Defra confirms its Call for Evidence will encompass all aspects of gamebird rearing, release and shooting (here)

Update 5 September 2026: Defra’s Call for Evidence on all aspects of gamebird rearing, releasing and shooting is now open – this is your opportunity to be heard (here)

Today is the official opening day of the Red-legged Partridge (RLP) shooting season in England, Scotland and Wales.

An estimated 10 million RLPs are released into the countryside every year, for shooting. They join an estimated 50 million released Pheasants – although the shooting season for Pheasants doesn’t start until 1 October.

The precise number of these non-native Pheasants and RLPs released each year isn’t known – research published recently by Guy Shrubsole demonstrated that shooting estates in England are failing to declare millions of released birds, and research published earlier this year by Wild Justice demonstrated that some shoots are releasing birds unlawfully, under the radar of the authorities.

Someone asked me this morning whether there was any evidence that shoots were releasing fewer birds this year, as a consequence of last year’s Bird Flu outbreak.

Well, according to the shooting press, apparently the opposite is true, at least with regard to RLPs.

Three shooting publications are reporting that game dealers have sent a warning to shoot managers this year, saying that there is a ‘a glut’ of RLPs being released this year; so many in fact that the game dealing trade (the people who process and sell on the shot birds) are concerned that the number of RLPs “go beyond what the trade can handle“.

The estimated number of predicted RLP releases seems to originate from a ‘market briefing note’ recently issued by Guns on Pegs, an online market place for selling shoot days. I haven’t been able to find a copy of that note so can only rely on what the shooting press is saying about the content.

But Shooting Times, Sporting Gun and the Fieldsports Journal are all reporting on the story, with quotes from two prominent individuals from the game dealing industry:

Leon Challis-Davies of the game meat organisation Eat Wild said: “To put it bluntly, shoots have stocked more partridge than usual and there just isn’t the capacity to cater for the volumes we’re expecting unless we all get our act together soon“.

Tristan Kirk of Lincolnshire Game said: “I encourage every estate that supplies partridges to the food industry to speak to their preferred processors as soon as possible, with accurate information about the numbers expected and dates. This allows us to have a forecast for sales or storage requirements until a sale can be found. This is crucial and should be normal practice“.

There’s also commentary about the poor condition of some gamebirds received by dealers, attributed to ‘bad handling’ on the shoot, which means that those gamebirds cannot then be processed for human consumption.

It’s all quite interesting, given the game shooting industry’s mantra (Code of Good Shooting Practice) that:

“Shoot managers must ensure compliance with relevant game meat and food hygiene regulations“

and

“Shoot managers must ensure they have appropriate arrangements in place for the sale or consumption of the anticipated bag in advance of all shoot days“. [Emphasis is mine].

Stand by for piles of shot and dumped or fly-tipped RLPs across the UK this season….

Now, where’s that evidence-gathering exercise on gamebird release and shooting, promised by Defra?

NatureScot is currently running one of its periodic public consultations reviewing the use of General Licences for wildlife management.

As discussed earlier this week, RSPB Scotland considers the current system of General Licensing as being “unfit for purpose” (see here).

Campaign group Wild Justice agrees with that position and has produced a step-by-step guide for anyone who wants to participate in the public consultation.

It’s important that participants use their own words rather than a cut and paste job, so the Wild Justice guidance is exactly that – just guidance.

The consultation closes on 31 August 2026 (this coming Monday) although the terms of reference for the consultation don’t provide a specific closure time on Monday, so if you’re able to complete the process before Monday that would be ideal.

Thank you

Press release from RSPB (24 August 2026)

THE UK’S RAREST BREEDING BIRD RAISES CHICKS AT SECRET LOCATION FOR THE SECOND YEAR RUNNING

The UK’s rarest breeding bird of prey, the Montagu’s Harrier, has nested for the second year running this summer at a secret location in England, successfully raising six youngsters from two nests.

Last year a pair of adults raised four chicks at the same secret farmland location. It was the first time the species had successfully bred in the UK since 2019. This year, the same adult male nested with two new females, with the nests just a short distance apart. The ten-year-old male, named ‘AU’ from his leg ring, remarkably went on to feed three youngsters in each nest. AU was himself ringed as a chick in a protected nest in Wiltshire in 2016. 

While never common, the population of Montagu’s Harriers declined after a high of nine successful nests in 2011. There was no successful breeding between 2020 and 2024, and the species was officially placed on the Red List in 2021. 

Careful monitoring by the RSPB in partnership with the farmers meant this year’s nests were protected by fences to exclude ground predators and the chicks were all uniquely ringed in mid-July.  

In what is a UK first, two of the juvenile females have been fitted with satellite tags. These £3,000 state-of-the-art lightweight tags will allow the RSPB to follow the birds daily on their 7,000-mile return journey to West Africa.

The RSPB is urging birders to look out for the other youngsters as they leave the country and to report any sightings by emailing the Montagu’s hotline: montys@rspb.org.uk

Mark Thomas, Montagu’s Harrier species lead at RSPB, said: “We are doing our absolute utmost to save this iconic species in the UK and are delighted with six flying juveniles this year. The satellite-tagging of juveniles for the first ever time should give us a direct insight into their migration, survival and when and where they return to the UK. This has been a true team effort and we would like to thank the farmers, conservationists and our sponsors Mark and Mo Constantine.    

Paying tribute to the male bird AU, Mark added: “AU is truly awesome, he is single handedly propping up this species in the UK with his amazing display flights in May being rewarded by attracting two new breeding females, seemingly out of thin air.” 

Montagu’s Harriers winter in Africa before returning to Europe to breed. They nest on the ground in agricultural fields, with their youngsters often still too young to fly at harvest time. As a result, nests are prone to unintentional destruction across their European range. Interventions by conservationists and partnerships with farmers are essential, particularly with even earlier harvests fuelled by climate change.

In a further twist, three of last year’s youngsters ‘JJ, JP and JO’ have all been seen in the UK this summer, so conservationists hope if they return next year they all may well also attempt to breed.

ENDS 

Brilliant news! Well done to the farmers and the RSPB for protecting these nests. Let’s hope the adults and six juveniles manage to get out of England alive, unlike some of their predecessors (e.g. see here and here). 

Professor Dave Goulson is a leading UK conservationist, known especially for his work on bee behaviour, ecology and conservation, but also a lot more.

He’s also a celebrated author, and his most recent book, Eat the Planet Well, (Penguin Books, 2026) has been shortlisted for the Wainwright Prize for Conservation Writing.

This book explores ‘how modern food production harms both human health and the environment’. He had originally included a chapter on game shooting and hunting, but his editors decided not to include it. His publisher apparently thought it was ‘a bit peripheral to the main message’ and Dave suspects the publisher also thought ‘it was a bit controversial and might upset some people’.

Rather than letting the chapter go to waste, Dave has uploaded a YouTube video where he sits and reads the unpublished chapter from his laptop.

As you’d expect of someone with such impeccable credentials, it’s very good. But what’s probably the most powerful is his measured, quiet delivery.

Well worth a watch if you’ve got a spare 22 minutes.