* Does Natural England's reliance on the 'good practice' of licence holders really work?
* How many licence holders fulfill their obligation to file a report of action taken? * I've asked Natural England to provide a figure.... How many returns, that is to say 'reports of action taken', are received by Natural England for the thousands of bird control licences that they issue? Anyone carrying out licensed bird control, that has been approved by Natural England, is obliged under the terms of their licence to complete and submit a return, detailing the action they have taken, including the numbers of birds shot, eggs destroyed etc. But how many licence holders actually fulfill this obligation? "We rely on the 'good practice' of licence holders...." I was told some time ago by then operations director, James Diamond, that Natural England relies on the 'good practice' of licence holders to act responsibly in filing their returns. And there are apparently no significant penalties for those that don't. Basically it is a system that depends on the honesty and integrity of licence holders, and so it is a system that is bound to fail on occasion. Public dismay at Starling cull Recently I uncovered a case where a farmer had been granted licences by Natural England to cull Starlings over a period of at least ten years, in spite of the fact that at one point he had allegedly shot Starlings without a valid licence and that he had apparently failed to submit the obligatory return for at least one year. This case raised many questions about just how widespread the misuse of licences really is. When I broke this story, there was much public indignation and many people contacted me to express their dismay that this could have happened. Doubts over the competence of Natural England seem to be growing. The question of licence returns.... A few days ago I asked Natural England's Director for wildlife licensing if he could provide me with details of how many returns had been received by Natural England for bird control licences that were issued during the year 2018-19. In other words, I want to find out what percentage of licence holders do actually submit their returns. It's a fairly straightforward way of assessing the credibility of the process. At the time of writing, I am still awaiting a reply. Perhaps the figures are not readily to hand, or maybe Natural England would rather we didn't know... But I will pursue this information as I think it is in the public interest to know how watertight the licensing system is in practice. My hope, of course, is that the vast majority of licence holders do submit accurate returns, on time. My fear is that there may be many who fail to act with the 'good practice' on which Natural England relies... I will update in due course......
47 Comments
Ann Marilyn Strathern
10/9/2020 08:24:09 pm
[private]
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10/9/2020 09:11:55 pm
Thank you Jason for your continued efforts and hard work. Let us know how we can help you please.
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edward Barratt
11/9/2020 07:23:11 am
More excellent investigative work, many thanks Jason.
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Tina grace
11/9/2020 09:34:51 am
Your work is absolutely vital . Thousands of us are so grateful & value enormously your dedication & hard work invested to protect our precious wild life . Thank you !!
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Eric Buckley
11/9/2020 10:01:59 am
Good work Jason. The licensing system needs teeth. The current system that relies on 'good will' is wide open to abuse and shows just how inept Natural England has become.
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Patricia Ann Ashton
11/9/2020 10:14:10 am
I was alarmed to read that 'thousands' of licences are granted to civilians. I cannot see how they would be vetted in view of the great number. 'Natural' England does not live up to it's name. Well done in your perseverance.
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Juliet Morton
11/9/2020 03:37:10 pm
Keep going.
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Joyce Huggins
10/9/2020 08:24:40 pm
Great work!
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Beth Allsopp
10/9/2020 08:29:16 pm
Jason, it seems unbelievable that it's allowed to shoot starlings when their numbers are declining all the time. And all the other wild birds you've told us about. A huge thank you for all the wonderful work you do - please keep it up.
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Tim Elgood
10/9/2020 08:33:05 pm
Very grateful to you Jason for your persistence and commitment.
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Tricia Edwards
10/9/2020 08:35:14 pm
It makes the blood run cold when you hear about these practices. Maybe licences are needed in some circumstances/maybe not.
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Avril Elliott
10/9/2020 08:35:28 pm
Appreciate all that you do to try and protect our wild birds, I am totally ignorant of what has been going on for years, that it is legal to kill wild birds by applying for a “license”
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trev
10/9/2020 08:39:53 pm
Keep on at them Jason. Sounds like it is a completely incompetent organization. And in any case why do birds need controlling?
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Hilary Dickson
10/9/2020 08:51:18 pm
So grateful for all you do Jason. The whole system seems rotten to the core. Thank you for your persistence in holding NE to account.
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Norman Hill
10/9/2020 09:03:52 pm
The farm on which I live is like so many others. A Dairy Farm - Food in the mixing yard left in the open - Feeding is done by piling food up in front of open barriers & in the open. - Slurry is spread on the fields along with undigested grain. So the Starlings & Jackdaws are drawn in to feed, in the cold of winter they arrive in large numbers. They start in the fields then find the food in the mixing yard & feed areas. Then the indiscriminate unlicensed shooting starts. The birds just fly around after being shot at, then settle again. The shooting is not targeted at individual birds, it is directly into the flock, many birds are injured . Dirty farms & bad practices need inspections, not licenses.
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Martin
10/9/2020 10:22:21 pm
Norman, thank you for your informative insight to some farming practices.
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Edward Barratt
11/9/2020 07:22:00 am
Thank you for this. This is despicable - once again the law utterly fails nature.
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J.West
11/9/2020 12:44:53 pm
Thanks for voicing the troubling things you see. I too lived in a farm for several years, and can confirm sloppy practices were very evident, so much so that the visiting vet sometimes became outraged, and threatened to report the farmer. Sloppy practices lead to wildlife "taking advantage" to the point that the wildlife is seen as a nuisance. I'm convinced that is the root of the Bovine TB problem also. It's far too easy to blame a hapless animal or bird specie rather than make the effort to do things properly.
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pam allen
20/9/2020 08:59:21 am
Excellent point Norman, certain farming practices do encourage flocks of birds to feed on farming land, if the birds do not eat the openly available seed then other starving mammals will rightly do so...what's wrong with that. People dispose of all types of food with nature taking control by clearing it then away then we apparently persecute nature for doing so...who is at fault in all this, us.
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10/9/2020 09:06:25 pm
This is worrying. Firstly, it's no good making rules, regulations or laws if they aren't regulated properly. People who fail to follow stipulations should be penalized . My husband used to go on "vermin shoots" at a local estate and I wonder if only the licence holder is held responsible, or does he pass on the "culling" to someone else? Eiither way the criteria and practices need more stringeht monitoring? Or is that too much to ask?
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Frances Bee
10/9/2020 09:48:16 pm
Amazing work - much appreciated. Please let me know if I can help in any way. As regards starlings - in my part of rural Suffolk we hardly see any.
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Gareth Huw Lewis
10/9/2020 09:50:18 pm
Once again Jason-thank you for pressing Natural England for answers to a simple question -"How many returns are received by Natural England"-in other words how many "license holders" actually file reports to Natural England of the action taken and the numerical results--the answer really needs to be close to 100 percent-otherwise Natural England must immediately suspend licenses of those who have failed to file a report-although of course the request for a license may be extremely questionable in the first instance-such as the ludicrous request by this Somerset farmer for killing Starlings-and he /she is still killing them 10 years later!!!-disgusting travesty
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Milja Spruit
10/9/2020 10:14:58 pm
Thank you Jason! I wish I had your willpower...
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Gillian Miller
10/9/2020 10:18:52 pm
With the announcement that two thirds of all animals, which would include birds, have disappeared in the last 50 years we really need to have a new system in place. Any cull should be based on scientific evidence and not on some old man with a gun who doesn't like wildlife and the hope that he behaves himself legally.
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Martin
10/9/2020 10:23:50 pm
Well done Jason, good question.
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10/9/2020 10:25:19 pm
THE ONLY THING THAT NEEDS CULLING ON THIS PLANET ARE THE UNNECESSARY AND CRUEL SUB HUMANS THAT UNFORTUNATELY INHABIT IT WITH US!
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Steve Turner
11/9/2020 07:58:21 am
I'm with you there Lynn!!
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Molly
11/9/2020 08:21:31 am
This is very true Lynn. The question is, how do you get sub humans to realise they are not being compassionate when they do not understand the concept nor do they want to. Its a multi layered system of corruption that cares not for us or anything natural. The present time we are in reflects that, where the english language has been hijacked and 'safety' actually means 'controlled' and human rights are unfortunately awarded to people who have acted inhumanely . . . . . . we are all connected and need to live in harmony with nature which is where true good health begins though that is and always has been denied by those who are materialistic, greedy and interested only in themselves. The earth could be a beautiful, bountiful, joyous place if all that is natural was not being tampered with . . . . . .
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Maria Johnson
10/9/2020 10:43:52 pm
Good information. Thank you for all your work
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Sylvia Leaver
10/9/2020 11:29:52 pm
Thank you Jason for uncovering the atrocities carried out in the name of 'Natural England'. It is obscene that anyone is allowed to shoot our birds, when they are so much in decline but to shoot them with the blessing of the very institution that is tasked with protecting them makes no sense at all. Please keep up your excellent work of investigating the work of 'Natural England'. Could some of it be televised perhaps to make more of the public aware in the hope of stopping the slaughter sooner?
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John Barker
11/9/2020 07:40:10 am
To reach an even wider audience, you could formally submit Freedom of Information (FoI) requests through the charity website What Do They Know. It permanently displays FoI requests to the whole world. FoI requests can only be used to receive recorded information but not opinions and thoughts of staff in public services, unless those are formally recorded, e.g. in minutes of meetings. With each such FoI request you could mention your petition and website as background information. Those who then search for FoI requests to Natural England via What Do They Know, would find your information.
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Steve Turner
11/9/2020 08:57:57 am
Well done Jason for your continued diligence!!
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Phil Page
11/9/2020 09:29:24 am
Best of luck Jason. I have been waiting since August 13th for a reply from Natural England to a letter I sent to their Regional Office. I have discovered that no one is going in to their office to check mail.
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Sharon Smithen
11/9/2020 09:47:28 am
It worries me that we rely on originations to 'look after' our wild birds and animals. They certainly need monitoring and Jason you are doing a fantastic job. I'm with you all the way on this.
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Lesley
11/9/2020 11:02:17 am
Thank you for your continuing hard work. I think you've raised some more very important points regarding the submission of licence returns and the lack of penalties for those who don't follow 'good practice'. I'd like to see the word 'cull' removed and replaced by 'kill', which is a more accurate description of what happens.
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Rachel
11/9/2020 11:05:53 am
Thank you for continuing to pursue this issue. Hopefully all of your hard work will put an end to this appalling licensing system!
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Sandra Haynes
11/9/2020 01:00:56 pm
This is disgusting as our birds are in such decline. Haven't farmers got better things to do then to shoot birds.
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BoB Howson
11/9/2020 02:53:02 pm
Thank you again and again. Your energy is amazing. The more you think to ask then the more it seems that Natural England's licensing system is a complete disgrace. Please carry on and tell us what you'd like any/all of to assist with.
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Liz Hawthorn
11/9/2020 05:36:17 pm
Thanks for your diligence and hard work Jason. It's shameful that so many wild birds are being slaughtered without good reason when the numbers of most are declining.
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Julia Dance
11/9/2020 06:48:10 pm
Should more of us ask your question individually?
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Susan
11/9/2020 08:35:26 pm
This evidence of harmful practice should prompt urgent action by relevant organisations, government, local authorities etc to change the law and rules before it is too late.
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Julia U
12/9/2020 10:23:34 am
Thank you Jason for sticking with this . Natural England have a lot to answer for. As many others have said - our wildlife is declining rapidly and it's 'mans fault' this is happening. Natural England need to come clean and publish their 'good practice killing' numbers.
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Richard Crowe
14/9/2020 10:54:04 am
There is clearly a large and appreciative audience for the vital work you are doing in forcing a degree of transparency on yet another government body or quango. Having watched David Attenborough's scary film on extinction and realizing we in this country are a guilty as any other of this kind of practice...(my bugbear is the reduction and near elimination of hedgerows the natural habitat of so much wildlife...) I can see this needs to become a kind of national movement to bring together all concerned people to force action across the political spectrum. Your work, painstakingly and persistently performed is thankfully making that kind of needed national effort much more likely.
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Leslie Clark
17/9/2020 09:00:45 am
Dear Jason
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17/9/2020 09:56:33 am
Hello Leslie,
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Susan Penny
17/9/2020 07:45:19 pm
I would like to see Natural England's explanation for their destruction of our wild birds Leave a Reply. |
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