Thousands of Mallard eggs approved for destruction under ongoing Natural England licence - the system is broken...

* Since 2012, Natural England has approved the destruction of thousands of Mallard eggs - at a single site.
* In addition, the same licence permitted the destruction of Coot, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Canada Goose and Greylag Goose eggs....

Hi folks,

I said I'd let you know when I heard back from Natural England following my latest freedom of information request.

This time it was regarding the destruction of thousands of wild birds eggs, permitted under an ongoing licence that Natural England has routinely renewed over several years.

Eventually I had a response from Natural England, along with a zip file containing documents outlining the numbers of eggs approved to be destroyed under this regularly renewed licence, since 2012.
It would seem that the licence goes back even further than that - but records prior to 2012, according to Natural England, "are no longer held and have been destroyed in accordance with best management records practice."

Much of the information contained in the response has been redacted, hidden due to concerns over security, should the licence holder's identity be made public.
Due to these redactions, I can't tell you the organisation that is destroying the eggs of wild birds, nor can I safely divulge the location.
But I can tell you that since 2012, Natural England has approved the destruction of thousands of Mallard eggs - at a single site.
In addition, the same licence permitted the destruction of Coot, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Canada Goose and Greylag Goose eggs.

Why?
To protect a zoological 'collection'.

In order to protect selected waterfowl species contained within the 'collection', native wild birds are deterred from breeding at the site. To achieve this, the organisation is allowed (by way of Natural England's  licence) to destroy the eggs of certain wild birds deemed undesirable within the boundary of the site.
The organisation holding the licence aims to breed various species of birds (some of them described as 'exotic waterfowl' species) as part of wider conservation efforts. It sounds like a noble cause, except that it entails destroying native species of birds in the process...
The licence holder points out that the native wild birds are welcome to breed outside the boundary, where there is a large area of managed nature reserve.

The problem is that the local native species of birds don't seem to recognise that the area within the 8 foot high fence surrounding the site is no-go territory for them.

The organisation running the site says that their "conservation aims are to protect both zoological and native species from disease and aggression.  [We] have numerous exotic waterfowl on site which are bullied by the more aggressive native waterfowl which dominate managed nesting sites."
"As the wild birds lay eggs they draw in avian predators which prey on their eggs and chicks (Herons, Corvids and Gulls) which in turn also predate the eggs of the exotic waterfowl which we are trying to breed."

It all sounds like a complete mess, albeit one founded on an idealistic plan.
Conservationists playing 'Mother Nature'.
To my mind, that is never an ethical strategy and rarely successful in the long term.
In this case, it will just result in crippling the local population of wild birds - it's fairly obvious that there would be thousands more Mallards, for example, if their eggs were not routinely destroyed, I mean it's not rocket science is it...?

In issuing the licence, Natural England clearly believes that native species populations in the area will not be adversely impacted.
Mallards though are a vulnerable amber listed species in the UK - how can anyone justify destroying their eggs?

I've been through the data supplied in response to the foi request, and have come up with a shocking estimate of the numbers of wild birds eggs potentially destroyed - in the name of conservation - under this licence over the past few years.

The figures since 2012 suggest that the licence holder has been allowed to destroy more than 3000 Mallard eggs.
A similar combined number of Coot and Moorhen eggs and more than 2,500 Greylag Geese eggs.
Eggs of Mute Swans and Canada Geese were also approved to be destroyed.

In total, several thousand wild birds eggs permitted to be legally destroyed, all in the name of conservation.

It's odd, isn't it - though perhaps not surprising - that the much loved Mallard is now amber listed, a threatened species in the UK. Yet this organisation was allowed to destroy thousands of Mallard eggs, in order to protect other selected species.
I don't call that conservation, I call it misguided and irresponsible.

Although I can't tell you right now exactly where this is happening, suffice it to say that it's yet another example of lethal control that has been enabled for years by Natural England and their questionable licensing system.

This is just one example. I wonder if our wildlife would be better off without bodies such as Natural England altogether (and without some conservation organisations too) because however well intentioned they set out to be, they seem to lose sight of the welfare of wildlife and instead focus on their blinkered mission to 'manage' it - by way of lethal control.

I don't know, sometimes it feels like a futile task pointing out anomalies to those who should already know better. The key to real conservation is clear - it relies on individuals on the ground, making space for wildlife in whatever way they can - without killing inconvenient species in the process.

As for the particular case outlined above, who is to blame? Well the licence holder can only destroy the eggs if it has a licence issued by Natural England. And Natural England has seen fit to renew the licence for at least a decade.
So I think that says it all.

Time for the licence system to be overhauled, reorganised and monitored by those who really care about our natural world.

It's a controversial topic, I'd welcome your comments....

Best,
Jase