Natural England Rejects Plan To Protect Declining Cormorants

* Natural England acknowledges Cormorant numbers are in decline but rejects plans for independent monitoring of culls
* In spite of  warnings that licences might be facilitating illegal hunting....

Natural England has acknowledged a decline in the Cormorant population but has rejected our plan to monitor the culling of the birds.
This in spite of our warning that illegal hunting may be contributing to the downturn in the birds population.

The story so far....
Earlier in the summer I alerted Natural England to accounts of illegal shooting of Cormorants, being facilitated through misuse of their own lethal control licences.
I'd discovered that members of an online forum had been openly discussing anecdotal illegal use of the licences at inland fisheries and angling clubs across the country, where the birds are culled to protect fish stocks. 
At that time Natural England seemed concerned by this, their Head of Wildlife Licensing going so far as asking my advice on how they could address the problem.
"I would be very keen to hear your views on how NE might access data intelligence to monitor cormorant licensing better," he told me, adding that, "Intelligence and information from members of the public etc is critical in helping NE with its compliance/enforcement activity. We often visit sites as a result of information we receive".

So, back in June I proposed a plan to overhaul the Cormorant licences, and I had an assurance from Natural England that it had their attention:
"We are considering how we might evaluate changes to cormorant licensing.... some early views which we will try and develop. Reform/change might take some time to do alongside our other licensing priorities.... but I want to reassure you this has our attention."

Plan rejected
I remained optimistic over the summer, even through significant staff changes at Natural England, which saw two new faces heading the licensing department, but then last week I had a very disappointing update from them and an outright rejection of our proposals.
It was a disappointing and lacklustre response.
While acknowledging that Cormorant numbers are in decline, Natural England have now dismissed our call for better, independent monitoring of culls - in spite of the suggestions that their own licences are being used illegally.

"We do not know the reason for the decline"
Natural England recognise the dwindling numbers of Cormorants but said they 'don't know' the reason for the species decline in recent years.
They told me, "it is important to note that we do not know the reason for the recent decline", adding that "we will continue to monitor the situation and adjust licensing levels accordingly". 

I believe the reasons for the Cormorant's decline might actually be very clear indeed.

Unmonitored shooting 'out of control'
The shooting of Cormorants in England is largely underregulated, unmonitored and apparently out of control.
Some of those hunters tasked with killing Cormorants under licences issued by Natural England might be doing so with scant regard for their legal obligations, perhaps killing many more of the birds than is legally permitted.

The plan I put forward to tackle this problem was based on suggestions from readers of my blog and supported by members of our campaign which now has nearly 400,000 signatures.

Our plan would have enabled the public to report potentially criminal misuse of licences and required police checks on those carrying out the culls.
This has been dismissed by Natural England. 
They explained: "While we understand the public interest in licensed control of wildlife, advertising of specific dates and locations of shooting is unlikely to result in positive debate or understanding and is unlikely to be supported by the Police." 
They didn't elaborate further except to say, 
"on the suggestion that Natural England licences should be checked by the Police for suitability of those licensed to shoot, this is not a responsibility that the Police will be able to take on in addition to their issue of Firearms Certificates, determining the use permitted in each case".

"Trend shows an increase in birds"
In an attempt to justify their continuing policy of culling Cormorants, Natural England says "the 25-year trend shows an increase of 50%, and the 10-year trend shows a smaller increase of 23%"

But, however they try to dress it up, Cormorant numbers are now in decline.

With apparently little or no monitoring of the Cormorant culls and Natural England dismissing hopes for public and/or police  involvement, the government agency gives the unfortunate impression that it puts the interests of anglers and fisheries above the wildlife it claims to protect. 

An 'emotive' issue
In conclusion, Natural England told me, "We understand that the control of wild birds is an emotive issue, however as a regulator we must ensure we carry out our duties in accordance with the legislation and Defra policy which will result in licences being issued where the tests have been met."

Public have lost confidence in Natural England
But it's clear to me that Natural England has lost the confidence of the public and should not underestimate the power of public opinion.

I've now asked Natural England what, if any, monitoring they have (or intend to) put in place to combat this potentially illegal shooting of the birds. 

They said they would get back to me and I'm awaiting their response.

Meanwhile our campaign to protect all wild birds continues, please sign and share the petition HERE.

Photo by Amee Fairbank-Brown on Unsplash

Illegal hunting of Cormorants is openly discussed online - who knows how many of the birds are being shot under the cover of Natural England's licences?