Thanks to our campaign, at the end of March we will once again be able to scrutinise the licence data - and see for ourselves just how many birds are being killed with the approval of the "government’s adviser for the natural environment"....
Ever had the feeling you're not invited to the party? Trying to elicit the courtesy of a response from Natural England recently has been frustrating and disappointing, my polite efforts being met with silence. It was beginning to look as though they didn't want to engage with me. But I finally have some news and it's positive. I can confirm that the wildlife licensing data for 2020 will be published towards the end of this month. This, as many of you will know, is happening as a direct result of our campaign. In 2019, I managed to get confirmation from Natural England that they would publish, annually, full details of every licence they issued the previous year. Our petition, backed by hundreds of thousands of people, pressured the agency into being more open and transparent over their data - and revealed just how many birds and other animals were being killed under their licences. The first figures released under this agreement were issued last March. This was a major success for us because it meant that we, the general public, were finally able to scrutinise the data and raise any concerns we had. And there were concerns a plenty (see my blog post on Starlings for an example). So I was more than a little worried when I tried to get confirmation of a date for this year's data release and didn't receive a response. Twice. Today however I am pleased to say that (with a little persuasion), Dave Slater, Natural England's Director for Wildlife Licensing & Enforcement Cases, has told me that they are "on track to publish as planned at the end of the month". I will be waiting to take a look. And please rest assured that I will be examining it all with a fine toothcomb. I will of course share with you all any concerns I have and I will continue to monitor the activities of Natural England whose much touted vision of "Thriving Nature for people and planet" is, for many, just a tagline with little substance. Let them prove us doubters wrong.
12 Comments
15/3/2021 04:33:31 pm
Beautiful picture of a starling. I live near the sea and we don't get many and I haven't got a garden, so I probably haven't seen one for about ten years. This one was singing, which was something I didn't know about.
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Geoff Halpin
15/3/2021 04:52:12 pm
My Favourite British Bird I Hope Is Not on a List as it Has Been , as Estimates say There Are Only 100,000 Of Our Bullfinches In Britain It Needs To Be Addressed as A Protected Bird ! If The Fruitgrowers Complain The Answer is Simple the 10% Rule ! Ten Per cent For The Birds Ninety For Me !
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Gareth Huw Lewis
15/3/2021 04:54:18 pm
Great news Jason-thank you for pursuing this matter with Natural England.
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Charmian Goldwyn
15/3/2021 05:03:01 pm
We used to se starlings here in london, but I haven't seen any lately. They were marvellous mimics, I heard one mimicking a telephone, another a car alarm !
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Roy Antony Walker
15/3/2021 05:25:07 pm
We still have starlings but their numbers have dropped dramatically since the 1970's.
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Patricia Allsopp
15/3/2021 07:49:25 pm
Thank you Jason for holding Natural England's feet to the fire. Such arrogance displayed by them needs to be challenged. When it is so blatantly obvious that almost all of our birds and wildlife are in decline who in their right mind would issue licences to actual kill them. Sparrows and Starlings were prolific when I was a child, now I am lucky to see 1 small family of sparrows and just a few Starlings.
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Robert Smith
15/3/2021 09:25:24 pm
Pheasant & Grouse shoots are seasonal and the costs are beyond the means of the average gun lobby blood sport supporter.
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Vivien Starkie
15/3/2021 09:25:40 pm
Brilliant. Your persistence is amazing. I do still see all of the birds from my childhood (I'm in my seventies) but their numbers are hugely reduced. The deafening dawn chorus is sadly non-existent. The game birds are a problem but I'm hoping they won't be replaced!
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Nicole Troclet
15/3/2021 10:40:56 pm
We have 7 acres here and do our best to let nature do its job and try not to interfer. But we are surrounded by idiots who cut entire hedges, it is terrible. Anyway we haven't seen a starling for 10 years at least here in this part of Cornwall, there used to be loads. How sad! But we have seen more birds this year than in the last 3 or 4 years maybe, so not all bad..
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Linda Wallbanks
16/3/2021 11:50:29 am
It's great to see the wonderful work you do. On an optimistic note, I am very pleased to report over the past three years I have lived in rural East Riding of Yorkshire there have been hundreds of starlings nesting in the trees to the front of my home and practising their murmurations around the trees behind me and I love it! Fingers crossed it will continue to delight me.
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Andrew Holder
16/3/2021 01:16:52 pm
Thats a great photo of the Starling, which we actually get quite a lot of near us and in our garden. The thing I have noticed is that we only get a few Sparrows whereas when I was growing up in the 1970's there seemed to be lots of them frequently in the garden.
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Karen Champion
25/3/2021 11:43:17 am
Great to see that you are requiring a list of authorised killing. Ever since the storage of grain has needed properly sealed containers the bird numbers have gone down, together with the RSPB's obsession with predatory species. Magpies have got out of hand as have feral pigeons.. mainly because of the human species littering habits.
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