Mystery surrounds a consignment of Black-headed gull eggs that were advertised for sale at a well-known food store this week, raising serious questions over where the eggs are being sourced.
The store stated that the eggs came from Lymington Marshes in Hampshire - but legal egg harvesting in Hampshire has been suspended since last year when Natural England withdrew all licences in the area, following concerns over sustainability of the practice and possible damage that it might cause to SPA (Special Protection Area) integrity and an SSSI site. Indeed hopes were growing that the few remaining licences, issued to just two individuals in North Yorkshire, would also be suspended this year following pressure from our campaign, which is supported by 400,000 people. Who is eating eggs of threatened birds....? For the past few years, as part of our campaign to overhaul Natural England's bird control licensing system, we have been trying to bring an end to the distasteful trade in Black-headed gull eggs, collected for human consumption. Thousands of the eggs have traditionally been harvested each year, from nesting sites in Hampshire and Yorkshire, to be served up to wealthy diners in fancy restaurants and sold through high end grocery outlets. An annual 'Gulls Egg Luncheon' in support of a well known charity also takes place each year in London, where 600 'city professionals' gather to dine on the eggs of this protected species (though last year they were replaced with quail eggs due to supply issues). Black-headed gulls are an amber listed species, of conservation concern. By Natural England's own admission, the practice of collecting their eggs as human food is 'unsustainable' at one of the primary traditional harvesting areas of Hampshire. There have been alleged reports of illegal egg collecting over the years, not surprising when the eggs can retail for £8 each - but of course if people stopped eating the eggs there would be no demand for them. If all the remaining licences were withdrawn, there would be no legal Black-headed gull eggs available - and no grey areas. And that's exactly what I've been asking Natural England to do. Meanwhile I'm calling on restaurants, grocery stores and others to stop selling the eggs. Eggs advertised for sale.... So, it was something of a surprise to find eggs advertised for sale this week through a well known grocer, allegedly collected from Hampshire - where licences have been suspended since last year and collecting the eggs is not permitted. So what is going on....? I asked Natural England if there are any currently active licences and whether there are any 'legal' eggs in circulation. They have told me emphatically that no licences have been issued in Hampshire, but so far they have been unable or unwilling to confirm or deny whether they have issued any licences for harvesting the eggs in Yorkshire or elsewhere. It might well be that the store had made a mistake in declaring their eggs were from Hampshire, they may have come from a legal licensed source in Yorkshire - if those licences remain in place, but until Natural England reveal details of any currently active licences it's impossible to know. After pressing them for an explanation, Natural England have now said they will get back to me with more information by the end of next week "with regards to an update on licences in Yorkshire and Hampshire.....[and] regarding the Lymington Marshes as well." The mystery remains. No longer sustainable It was last year that Natural England told me they conducted an evidence review into the impacts of egg harvesting in Hampshire and concluded that "the activity was no longer sustainable, where adverse effect on SPA integrity or damage to the SSSI feature could not be ruled out." A similar assessment was being made this year in Yorkshire and they said they'd let me know the results of that by the end of March. Now it's nearly May - the height of the traditional egg harvesting season - and Natural England still haven't shared the outcome. We'll have to wait now for more information before we can see what the future holds for Black-headed gulls. As soon as Natural England get back to me I will let you know. Campaign continues It seems like a good time to tell even more people about our campaign, the more support we have the more likely we are to bring about the changes that are urgently required. Please sign/share HERE And watch this space.....
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Natural England has ruled out a review of its notoriously controversial falconry licences, which enable the hunting of red listed birds including Skylarks, House Sparrows, Lapwings, Mistle Thrush and Fieldfares - for 'sport'.
Hunting songbirds continues There was a huge public outcry after I revealed that the UK government's nature watchdog, Natural England, is busy issuing licences to hunt and kill some of our rarest and most treasured wild birds, for the purposes of sport. Along with the widespread condemnation, there was disbelief that rare birds can be legally hunted as 'quarry' in England. Under the current licensing rules, falconers can choose to hunt and kill a range of native birds, including seven that are 'red listed', of the highest conservation concern. No plans for licence review So I asked Natural England if they would at least consider removing the most endangered red-listed species from the licences. But in a blunt statement, Natural England has rejected any immediate review. They told me that "There are no plans to review falconry licensing in the short term". That was all they said on the matter, twelve words, and there are no signs that their inflexible stance will change any time soon. Meanwhile the officially endorsed hunting of our rare songbirds continues, which I think is a scandal. Ongoing campaign to stop gulls eggs being guzzled by wealthy diners... I have also been pushing for a complete end to the grotesque harvesting of Black-headed gull eggs, which are 'traditionally' collected in huge numbers to supply high society dining establishments and elite fundraising events, including the annual Gulls' Eggs Luncheon in support of the Cure Parkinsons charity. This dubious trade in gull eggs is enabled by Natural England who issue licences to collect the eggs. Regular readers will know that, following pressure from our campaign, the licences were suspended at the main harvesting areas in Hampshire ahead of last year's breeding season, though a limited number of licences were still being issued in Yorkshire. I strongly suggested to Natural England that these remaining licences should be withdrawn without any further delay, but they are insistent on carrying out an 'assessment', with a view to making a decision shortly. I was somewhat irked when Natural England's Head of Wildlife Licensing Service informed me earlier this week that "black-headed gulls can produce multiple egg clutches and continue to breed successfully following egg harvesting." As though that is a valid reason to take eggs from the nests of wild birds - merely to satisfy the appetites of a privileged section of society. My response to this was "the fact that they can produce multiple egg clutches is not reflected in their conservation status, which as you know is currently amber. So they are not doing well as a species. Human consumption of their eggs is hardly essential, therefore I can see no valid reason for Natural England to continue to support this practice." 'Sensitive' issue - or is it? When I announced the withdrawal of the Hampshire licences, in a blog post last year, I was asked by Natural England to 'word it sympathetically' to enable them to 'manage' stakeholder communications and sensitivities - they seemed worried about offending certain individuals or groups; but there was none of the backlash that Natural England feared, with establishments apparently just substituting the gull eggs with quail eggs - proving that nobody is really that bothered about eating gull eggs in the first place and that there is no good reason for the anachronistic practice to continue - let alone be supported by England's nature agency. Honestly it's like banging one's head against a brick wall sometimes. This isn't rocket science, nobody should be eating the eggs of an amber listed species, surely? It seems patently obvious. I'm awaiting Natural England's response once they have 'assessed' the situation. Anyway, hope everyone is doing well, I think I can safely say that Spring has now arrived (?), although last time I said that we had a foot of snow dumped on us, so I'm wary about tempting fate! Thanks everyone for your support, further updates in due course. The campaign continues! |
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July 2023
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