Gamekeepers should act today to safeguard the General Licence for shooting pest bird species in England, the NGO has said.
A Natural England consultation on altering the General Licence runs until 19 May; the NGO has called some of its suggestions “ludicrous” and “impractical”.
It has asked its members to read in full the organisation’s response to the consultation, before sending their own responses.
Responses should be personal and individual, explain why General Licences are so important to gamekeepers and land managers, and express support for the NGO’s viewpoint.
NGO chairman Lindsay Waddell said: “The consultation on pest bird licensing in England isn’t all bad news. There are some sensible parts. But it contains a lot of daft, ludicrous and impractical stuff too, including the now infamous ‘shoo before you shoot’ clause. Don’t forget this would also apply to all bird trapping. I would urge all members to read our detailed response on the NGO website and to make a personal and individual reply to Natural England before 19 May 2014. Contact your gamekeeping friends and ask them to do the same. How we get to do our job in the future may well depend on it. Please do it today.”
Read the consultation in full here.
Leave a Reply