The expiry of general licence 45 and the next steps for gamebird releases

As many members will be aware, general licence 45 (GL45) expired on 1 February this year and has not been reissued. The licence previously allowed the release of common pheasant (phasianus colchicus) and red-legged partridge (alectoris rufa) in special protected areas (SPAs) or within 500m of their boundaries.

Through direct channels and partner organisation Aim to Sustain, the CLA has raised member concerns about the change with Defra, based on a lack of appropriate evidence and an inconsistent application of the precautionary principle. We will continue to make these points known and work with other organisations to push back against Defra’s tenuous position.

Defra has been firm in its insistence that the decision will not be revisited. It states that shoots must make individual applications for licences should they wish to.

The British Association of Shooting and Conservation (BASC) recently held a webinar to provide an update to the industry. The main speaker was a member of its legal team, Dr Marnie Lovejoy. Dr Lovejoy outlined actions to date by BASC on this issue, including individual meetings with a number of Labour MPs and ministers to raise concerns - such as the loss of predator control and the financial loss to rural businesses. It has made the point that this decision indicates both operational and institutional bias within Natural England (NE).

On the legal front, Section 16 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 gives neither a right of appeal nor a right to compensation. This leaves judicial review (JR) as the only route. JR has a very specific legal action and is very limited in scope, which raises questions over the decision being lawful (but not necessarily right), having followed the correct process, or being entirely false.

Put simply, with a case such as this - where NE will claim to be following the precautionary principle in terms of a risk of avian influenza to rare birds in an SPA - courts are often unwilling to interfere.

NE has provided some documents which suggest that it is being precautionary, potentially cherry-picking evidence in support of its position, which reflects the thoughts of many of our members.

In an effort to better understand the decision-making process and provide a bank of evidence for a potential JR, we are asking for your help. If you are a member looking to apply for a licence, please do so, even if you anticipate a refusal from Natural England and efforts are made to discourage you. Things to consider are:

1. If you get a refusal, ask NE to provide a copy of the habitats regulations assessment (HRA) in support of its decision within 24 hours.
2. Share the documents with the CLA along with all communications with NE.
3. If you get a licence, please share it, but also ask for a copy of the HRA including any terms such as a late release date that makes it unworkable.
4. If you can move release pens, do so. Remember that grey partridge and mallard are not covered by the restriction.
5. A Site of Specal Scientific Interest (SSSI) that is also a SPA will need a separate NE consent and licence, but there may be longstanding SSSI consents already in place.
6. So far, there is only one licence that is known to deviate from NE’s guidance.
7. General Licence 43 remains in place until 2027 for release within a Special Area of Conservation (SAC).
8. To allow us to pass information on to BASC, please insert your full name into the message below when sharing all relevant information with your regional CLA office.

I (data subject name) hereby consent that the CLA can process my personal data for the purpose of passing the information across to BASC.

You may withdraw consent at any time by sending an email with your request to gdpr@cla.org.uk or writing to the Data Protection Officer, CLA, 16 Belgrave Square, London, SW1X 8PQ.