* Thousands of Black Headed Gull eggs are collected each year for human consumption, to satisfy the expensive tastes of restaurant goers....
* Natural England issues the licences that permit the taking of the gull eggs from the wild. * Black Headed Gulls are amber listed of conservation concern. A resurgence of nature might be one of the very few positive things to come out of this very harrowing chapter in human history. While the human race fights a battle against a virus, nature is flourishing and certainly much more visible in many parts of the country where human activity has decreased dramatically. On a less positive note, I've recently seen the latest installment of wildlife licensing data from Natural England, covering licences that they issued last year. The sheer number of species for which Natural England issued lethal control licences is alarming, and includes red and amber listed species of conservation concern - as in previous years. I'm wading through the data as I write and will be asking questions of Natural England in due course. And the data does beg many many questions. 'Gourmet' restaurants fuel trade in gull eggs - with approval of Natural England One particular area of concern that stands out immediately is that of the trade in eggs of Black Headed Gulls, which are served up by 'gourmet' restaurants on their fancy menus. Yes, in 2020, it's quite astonishing that the eggs of an amber listed species, of conservation concern, can be collected - under licences issued by Natural England - and sold to elite restaurants, so that the well heeled can indulge themselves in this 'delicacy'. All at the expense of a declining species. This scandalous trade has been highlighted in the media over the past few years, yet it still continues - with the approval of Natural England. Greed and gluttony - dining out on the eggs of a declining species is not acceptable We can't blame Natural England entirely for this of course, they are merely licensing a trade that is being fuelled by greed and gluttony. Indeed if it were not for the licences then there could be a free-for-all with absolutely no regulation. So perhaps we should apportion a big part of the blame to the restaurants themselves for demanding that the eggs appear on their menus. I'd love to hear from restaurateurs who think that serving eggs of a threatened species is acceptable - and there must be many of them because between 2018 and 2020 Natural England approved licences to collect thousands and thousands of eggs, from the wild, in locations such as North Yorkshire and Hampshire. It's a bizarre anachronism in these environmentally aware times, and it is clearly not acceptable. Natural England issued many other licences affecting Black Headed Gulls for other reasons too, meaning that this vulnerable species is under serious threat from the very organisation that is tasked with 'looking after' wildlife. Natural England's licensing of gull egg collection must stop While the restaurateurs serving gull eggs should hang their heads in shame, so should those loons (no disrespect to the bird of the same name) who think it's in any way appropriate to dine out on the eggs of a threatened species. However, judgement will finally fall on Natural England who are issuing these licences in the first place. How in any way can they justify taking the eggs of an amber listed species to satisfy the whims of high end restaurants? Natural England, in their role of "helping to protect England’s nature," should surely make a stand and refuse any further applications to collect gull eggs for the restaurant trade. Perhaps this year at least Black Headed Gulls will be safe from the egg collectors, while restaurants are forced to close under lockdown measures. It might perhaps be a good time for Natural England to rethink these particularly distasteful licences....
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July 2023
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