Birds In Peril - Natural England Data Reveals Ongoing Destruction

12/3/2022

- amber + red listed species still being lethally controlled
- 1000's gull eggs sold for 'gourmet' food trade
- licences to destroy 1000's wild bird's nests + eggs

Natural England have sent me the detailed stats for the bird control licences they issued last year (there will be a delay before they publish the figures on the government website, I'm told this is pencilled in for the 21st of this month).

The data is depressing, there are hundreds of licences enabling the lethal control of large numbers of birds - including some red listed species.
Depending on one's point of view, some of the data might be subjective, but personally I would like to see a very significant reduction in the number of licences that are still issued each year and a complete halt to the lethal control of any red listed species.

Anyway, I've had a first look through the data for 2021 so this update is just to let you know my initial thoughts.

Waterfowl Egg Destruction
Licences were approved for the destruction of thousands of eggs of species such as Moorhen, Coot and Mallard, for reasons including 'preventing the spread of disease', with a staggering 1,100 eggs on just one licence alone, issued to an applicant in Gloucestershire.

Greylag Geese
As in previous years, amber-listed Greylag Geese seem to be a particular casualty of the licensing system again during 2021, with hundreds of the birds on the kill list and hundreds more of their eggs licenced for destruction, reasons ranging from 'preserving public health and safety' to 'preventing serious damage to crops'. The unfortunate Greylag is also a 'quarry species' and so a target for hunters who are permitted to shoot the birds during the open season. This shows the strange anomaly that can exist in the world of (so-called) conservation, where a species of concern can still be a target for both government sanctioned culls and recreational killing.

Killing Endangered Species for Air Safety
Air safety remains another controversial reason for the lethal control of our wild birds. Natural England still issues licences to shoot several endangered species, including Curlew, in order to preserve air safety, this in spite of their much publicised, somewhat self-congratulatory, pilot scheme through which they removed a few Curlew eggs from an airfield to hatch and rear elsewhere.
Many other species are affected by these licences too. Kestrel, Oystercatcher, Golden Plover, Lapwing, Buzzard, Red Kite, Starling, Herring Gull, and more, all appear in the latest data.
Clearly there's a specific conflict here between human activity and nature but it brings into sharp focus the ecological disaster we face if we don't find better ways to co-exist with the natural world - and fast.

Grotesque 'Gourmet' Trade in Gull Eggs
One of my main concerns remains the grotesque trade in Black-headed gull eggs.
The Black-headed gull is another amber-listed species, its numbers are declining.
Yet several thousand eggs of Black-headed gulls are collected each year to supply the gourmet dining trade, under licences granted by Natural England.
This anachronistic and abhorrent practice has no place in the 21st century.
These egg collecting licences are based on "bequeathed rights" and appear to be issued as a matter of course each year, something I have been challenging as part of the campaign.
I have raised the matter with Natural England on a number of occasions and was told at the end of 2021 that, following a meeting with stakeholders, 'something public' would be announced regarding these particularly controversial licences in the new year.
However I have since been informed that such an announcement is now unlikely to happen.
My hunch is that nothing much has changed, otherwise you'd imagine they'd be keen to share an update.
That said, in the absence of an official public announcement, Natural England told me they will be happy to share something with me personally on this matter in due course, so I'll let you know...
Incidentally, the RSPB have raised concerns about this dubious trade in gull eggs; but in 2020 they told the Telegraph "we don’t know how many eggs each licence allows, so we don’t know the scale of the problem."
This statement was really quite ignorant because, thanks to our campaign, the data has been published since 2019 and clearly details the numbers in black and white.
It seems the RSPB don't follow our campaign and are therefore missing important information that might just help them with their work....
Meanwhile the trade appears to be continuing unchallenged, enabled and facilitated by the licences.

Some Better News
A glimmer of hope is that Natural England has scaled back the number of Herring gulls covered by their licences. This, I believe, is due to pressure from our campaign.
But I continue to maintain that no licences at all should be issued for red listed species.

Well, I've only taken a fairly quick look through the data at this stage. I'll carry on trawling through it.
Hopefully when the data is published on the government website you will all take a look too and highlight any particular areas of concern.

Meanwhile, thanks everyone for your continued support.
Spring is in the air and the birds are still singing.... so enjoy the lengthening days and I'll be in touch soon.

And please keep sharing the petition: HERE

Best,
Jase

55 Comments

Sue Bowman

13/3/2022 10:09:36 am

Natural England are not fit for purpose - I cannot understand why we the people still allow this mass murder of our beautiful wildlife by the hands of this shocking government department...

Ray Waldie

13/3/2022 10:32:03 am

Dear Sue,
Totally agree with your sentiments however, perhaps a clue to these licences being issued is how much revenue they create. Then there is the 'Shooting and Hunting' lobby.

Julia Dance

13/3/2022 11:36:55 am

Yes indeed Natural England is not fit for purpose. Their name seems more a cover to allow vested interests to exploit and destroy Nature in England.

Michael Dickins

13/3/2022 11:37:14 am

Red listed species should be protected even if it means a “break” every other year to allow breeding to recover.
As long as the common gull egg collection is properly supervised l do not see this a a real threat to the species.
The RSCP does not appear to give the support to “protect”
as it claims and should” step up” or at least comment on
it’s apparent lack of involvement.
Man is already on the road to self destruction but there is no need to take the rest of the natural world with it !!

(Dr) Pedr Jarvis

13/3/2022 12:13:12 pm

If the same applies in Wales, I shall be surprised. Only yesterday there was a raven overhead, being mobbed by a couple of crows. We have buzzards in some profusion - they sit on telegraph poles by our railway and slide off to pounce on the small creatures disturbed by the passage of our trains, and since the works cat died, they make a stout effort with the rats and rabbits in the works yard. We have ospreys in the summer and once had a visit from a sea eagle, presumably from Ireland. Our small birds are all right, though I hear curlews less than I did.
The Canada Geese are doing rather too well to the detriment of the others and a determined effort to hunt their eggs might not be a bad thing. I defer to your advice.

James Bunyan

13/3/2022 01:16:51 pm

Natural England is an oxymoron.
Perhaps Unnatural England is more appropriate.
This is a quango that has issued a licence to kill mallards, because they were a danger to cyclists.

Kevin Morgan

13/3/2022 06:31:02 pm

Hi sue I put an email to the rspb,this is just a start from me as I was appalled an disgusted with what I read it’s pathetic an the stupidity of people,our birds are amazing beautiful,there songs in the forest is awesomely perfect.
I hope there can be stop to this pathetic madness

Stuart Rowe Shelton

14/3/2022 01:48:09 pm

We, so very pompously, criticise many other nations for being corrupt ! The older I become and the more of our world do I see, the more ashamed I become to think of myself as British. The country has been on a downward slope for many years but now, with a liar for PM and a completely ineffectual government and civil service, I weep for that which used to be my country.

Linda Firth

13/3/2022 10:10:08 am

Please keep up the good and essential work you are doing. With many thanks. L

Tim Burke

13/3/2022 10:18:27 am

Strange that birds are only a problem at some airports. For example, at Faro, the runway ends on the edge of an area rich in birds, including Storks all year round, without any obvious conflict.

Mervyn Amesbury

13/3/2022 10:59:20 am

A very good point. Also the theoretical risk to birds is often cited as a reason for the slowness of developing much needed wind power, but birds have to be culled to protect the climate-destroying aviation industry.

David Appleby link

13/3/2022 11:04:24 am

Why not employ hawks or eagles with their handlers; that should scare birds off of runways, or would the permanent employments of handlers be a problem?

Claire Colquhoun

13/3/2022 11:36:05 am

Great idea, they do it at Wimbledon. Raises the profile of birds of prey and provides a good natural balance.

Julia Lowe

13/3/2022 03:56:21 pm

This does happen with some UK airports, Gatwick and Heathrow I think. The handlers are subcontract and come in when there are flocks of birds that need to be shooed off

Roger Evans

13/3/2022 05:40:15 pm

They use, or did do, some kind of hawk at the naval air base of Culdrose in west Cornwall but since the pandemic the annual Air Days have not taken place: so I am not sure whether the hawks are still there.

Julia Lowe

13/3/2022 03:51:50 pm

Yes we have travelled to that area of Portugal many times, seeing the Storks nesting on roofs was fabulous. I think other countries such as Portugal take their wildlife more seriously than the UK, makes me sad

Linda Mahoney

13/3/2022 10:20:55 am

There is nothing natural about the “Natural England “ organisation. They have no genuine care for either the land or the wild life trying to live in it. They and their licensing operations are totally shameful, and very frightening. We won’t have any birds or animals left if this organisation is allowed to continue it’s destructive policies.

Dorothy Norman

13/3/2022 10:24:47 am

Without people like you this information would all get lost and forgotten. Keep up the good work, we support you. Thanks.

Graham Bryant

13/3/2022 10:31:21 am

Hi Jase and thank you for your continued hard work.

I write with a genuine query on how best to respond to the dubious logic of Natural England and their apparent double standards.

My ask to you is whether in your experience it is time to politicise the situation by garnering the support of opposition parties for change, if this government refuse to do the right thing and stop pandering to what one can only presume is vested interest.

The manner in which this would be achieved would be critical if one were not to alienate supporters from across the political spectrum and I am no expert in such matters.

The 1st problem with this approach would normally be securing data but in this instance and thanks to you this is already done. The story of NE prevarication is, in itself, worthy of comment.

My Point is that the natural environment is not the sole province of any group and part of the cultural and environment fabric that makes life worthwhile.

Best regards

Graham Bryant

Kevin morgan

13/3/2022 10:32:31 am

It’s absolutely disgusting as if not enough birds are in decline,without the licence’s to kill an take eggs,it’s no wonder we don’t see them like we did in the 1990 s,it’s like they want to see a world with no wildlife.
Surely airports can use something to keep birds at bay,instead using guns an pinching eggs,something I would expect from cavemen except the guns,surely by now we really need to make our eco system rich,an birds definitely need to be in there,they are beautiful an deserve our respect

Julie Taylor

13/3/2022 10:34:04 am

Thanks for sharing this and for your continued work on this appalling situation. We really must find ways of living alongside nature and all this culling of 'inconvenient' endangered species must stop.

Elaine Hennessy

13/3/2022 10:34:44 am

There is shooting of many birds near me which has been going on since October. The shooting is in a field aiming across a footpath and into a small wooded area with a footpath the other side too. I was fired at whilst walking in the footpath and now my dog won’t go out out front door as we can still hear the shooting, from early in the morning to darkness. We used to have a garden full of birds, but now they have all stopped singing. We have to stop this widespread killing if all birds. There is a pair of buzzards nesting in the wooded area, and I fear especially for them.

Watson

13/3/2022 06:04:47 pm

Several firearms offences here - shooting out of season, shooting across public right of way, shooting without due care, etc. Tell the police, at the very least there will be a record of it. For a firearms offence in progress, the police have told me always to phone 999 and they will take it very seriously - even for something as "minor" as an air pistol or any other apparent weapon. We're not the US

Watson

13/3/2022 06:08:41 pm

Someone later in this thread suggests it was a bird scarer - if that's true it's annoying but legal

Peter Hillier

13/3/2022 10:52:39 am

Why don’t we just all send Emails to the RSPB about the disgusting Licenses being issued by Natural England, an Organisation not fit for purpose and sounds as if it is full of individuals who definitely do not care for Birds and probably any Wild Life.

Lise Frances Hertel

13/3/2022 11:10:17 am

I agree, I am a member of the RSPB and would happily write to them, maybe a separate campaign? We could all e mail our MPs as well?

I would also like a few stickers with some home truths about Natural England that I could stick on their unbearably smug signs that I have to pass when out walking! Most people don't know the truth, its horrifying.

Gareth Huw Lewis

13/3/2022 11:32:33 am

Thank you once again Jason for bringing more details of disturbing state sponsored culls to our attention.Yes, it is depressing and very distressing to all of us who love wildlife and wild birds in particular.

Natural England as far as I can see are just a government department who are obviously happy to overlook the Amber and Red List status of certain bird species and are perfectly happy to allow the killing of birds of conservation concern, for extremely dubious reasons such as for the restaurant trade and to protect public safety-that's a joke!

I am a long term member of the RSPB. and yes, of course they should do more-more campaigning and more public education and they should object to these frankly disgusting practices by Natural England

I know that this awful Government are more than happy to ignore the advice of their scientists-for example to allow the use of Neonicotinoids on sugar beet crops, and at the end of the day I am sure that they would be happy to ignore the advice of Natural England if conservation advice were to conflict with their interests but Natural England should at the very least, refuse to issue licenses under frankly dubious circumstances and if their decision is overturned by government ministers, at least they would command more respect and we would have a little more faith in their independence

Dot Cartwright

13/3/2022 11:35:13 am

I find it interesting that Chris packham is supposed to be friends with the top guy at natural England yet he doesn't complain about all the birds they are killing by the licences they issue. He complains instead about people killing pests like crows and jackdaws, that cause no end of problems in the countryside.

Squirrel Manning

13/3/2022 01:48:20 pm

Rubbish. The words 'pest' and 'vermin' are words that people have made up to include any species not farmed for human food. Humans are the biggest vermin on the earth.

Milja Spruit

13/3/2022 02:17:57 pm

There are no pests on the planet apart from humans, ‘the only mistake
that god ever made’…..

Richard C

14/3/2022 12:42:17 pm

Crows and Jawdaws are not pests! And exactly what damage do they do to the countryside? The real damage to the countryside is being carried out not by any wildlife at all but by farming interests chopping hedges back to nearly nothing ( the habitat of so much wildlife and the means to pass relatively safely from field to field) and using too much fertilizer that runs into the rivers. That is what needs seriously addressing.

Sarianne Durie

13/3/2022 11:58:14 am

This is all shocking reading.

It is like waste going into waterways - if it only kills off common little fish it doesn't matter.

This means that for kingfishers, dippers, waterside birds, green wagtails and the like, the finishing off small fish, insect larva, etc., that they feed on, is of no importance.

Disgraceful.

Lin Lobb

13/3/2022 12:27:02 pm

Elaine Hennessy it sounds to me that what you are hearing is called a bird scarer.
I had my daughters dog last year over November the 5th, she was frightened but not terrified. Two days later I took her for a walk and heard a bird scarer. She was not happy.
I bent down to tell her it was nothing to be scared of.
The third time I told her she accepted what I was saying and carried on walking quite happily for the rest of the walk.
I think a lot of dogs and probably cats as well take their fear from the way their owners react. Not all of them but a lot of them.
I have to say I would like the noise of fireworks to be eliminated it is quite unnecessary and domesticated animals have their owners to help them but wild animals have no one.

Karen N.

13/3/2022 01:00:20 pm

Well done and thank you for all the excellent work you've done to expose the sham of some (so-called) conservation and public health approaches to what are really culls.
As an RSPB member, I want all us members to encourage them to respond more proactively and collaboratively than they have to date with your research.

Stephen Welch link

13/3/2022 01:04:27 pm

Thanks again for your work. I must say I find it maddening that the RSPB are not active on this; they have good teams working on raptor persecution, publishing stats, and surely have many professionals working for them who could pick up this issue with a little bit of effort to find the relevant info in the public domain? Hopefully their 2020 statement was an accidental oversight, they should now set the record straight and make up for lost time.

It beggars belief that we are still shooting Curlews, very long-lived bird - are there no better methods in 2022 - while RSPB and other are publishing about the catastrophic population level declines and investing significant effort in mitigations which must be very costly. Why can't they join up the dots?

As for Natural England, we all know they are just a cover and prop for businesses to maximise exploitation of our natural environment, the gull eggs are a classic example - would they be prepared to take part in a blind tasting test to see if they could even tell a wild bird egg against the range that are available from captive species? Shocking and disgraceful that they are part of this exploitation in the 21st century, all funded by us, the tax payer :(

Amy Dowsett

13/3/2022 01:15:25 pm

Just as I don't understand why people can be allowed to live in National Parks, though I understand the pressure of population, because of the obvious compromise to the ecology of the parks, I don't understand why so many birds are not protected. The more intact the ecology the more productive and healthy the land and every indigenous bird has its place in that landscape. Keep up the good work.

Janet Haynes

13/3/2022 01:20:34 pm

Thanks for all your hard work and this information! I am shocked and saddened by the amount of beautiful species that are culled!! I live by the coast and so enjoy seeing these seabirds!

Geoff Nigel Halpin link

13/3/2022 02:22:51 pm

All Down To DEFRA ? All This Big is beautiful Crap That we Have In Our Society ? I Do not accept That Natural England and Others Under The Umbrella Of DEFRA .I Want To Know WHY Are Licences Issued To a Species That Has about 200,000 In the Country ,All I Can think is that the Fruit Farmers Are wanting To Cull These Birds Instead Of The 10 to 1 Rule For Every 100 Trees !0 For The Wild Life .When Did You Last See My Favourite The BULLFINCH ?

Keith Dancey

15/3/2022 05:10:06 pm

Didn't you learn to write properly at school?

Patricia Allsopp link

13/3/2022 02:56:10 pm

Not only are Natual England not fit for purpose, in my opinion they are completely insane. If I could withhold my taxes which help to pay their salaries, I would. Reading your comments Jase all I could say was UNBELIEVABLE. How is it possible to appeal to such an intrinsigent bunch of bullies. You have the patience of a Saint.

Dr Richard Meyer link

13/3/2022 05:13:30 pm

Your catalogue is appalling. We have the same arguments regarding the badger cull with the (so-called) Natural England.
It does not surprise me that the RSPB do not follow your work. In my not inconsiderable experience of them, they only really approve of stuff they do themselves, This was told me by a senior officer.
And can anyone shed light on all these eggs being destroyed but I am not allowed to give away my father's 90 year old collection?!
Keep up the good work.

Keith Dancey

15/3/2022 05:11:44 pm

Because your father did not obtain a license before stealing eggs from wild birds.

Frank Courtney

13/3/2022 05:45:14 pm

Thanks (again!) for all your efforts Jason. You are coming up with some really stuff. For me, the information on airport "control" is amongst the most shocking.

Nigel Gray

13/3/2022 07:28:40 pm

I cancelled my RSPB membership back in 2019 after .contacting RSPB regarding their non-action (failure to respond) to Jason's revelation that Natural England's are irresponsibly issuing kill and destroy licenses which are destroying large numbers of birds and eggs..

At the time I felt the RSPB with over a million members could have brought maximum pressure to bear on Natural England and support our petition for more public involvement and scrutiny of their licensing procedures..

The RSPB told me that they maintain a neutral policy as regards the lucrative big business involvement in the shooting of game birds for sport.. And they didn't seem to want to get involved in the Natural England issue at all.
One of the first rules of the RSPB at its founding was "That members shall discourage the wanton destruction of birds, and interest themselves generally in their protection".
My feeling then was that they were failing badly where this rule was concerned. As far as I am aware the RSPB have remained silent on Natural England, and on shooting game birds for sport since I cancelled my membership in 2019..
At the very least they could choose to publish regular articles regarding these issues, so that RSPB members can be informed and judge for themselves if they want to get involved. .At the very very least they could be mentioning. our petition and where to find it.

I'm out of touch with RSPB since 2019, so I don't know if anything has changed.. I doubt it has though. A million members could bring a lot of pressure on govt and Natural England.
I really don't understand the RSPB's lack of interest and action on these issues.

Keith Dancey

15/3/2022 05:13:47 pm

I see this campaign is more about trying to destroy the RSPB than help any bird.

Lily Schofield

13/3/2022 10:31:24 pm

This cannot be allowed to go on come on Chris Packham. You have the power to do something about all this ,why are we paying Natures England to take care of this country side and the birds ,insects and creatures that dwell there and they are doing the complete reverse and no transparency to their actions You need some people who have a voice to jump on board , come on Mr Packham and your spring watch team .....don’t sit on the fence .....don’t let them kill our wildlife ☮️💟☮️💟☮️

Keith Dancey

15/3/2022 05:15:51 pm

And what power, in particular, do you think Chris Packham has?

What do you actually KNOW about what Chris Packham does?

Christine Burden

14/3/2022 07:00:43 am

Thank you for speaking for all of us. I am too old and decrepit to do much these days, but I really appreciate your efforts to tell us what is really going on in our name and to bring Natural England to a reckoning. xxx

Sharon Smithen

14/3/2022 10:30:22 am

Here to support always. Natural England need to change what they are doing, it is the publics right to demand they do the job they should do and protect rather than allow distruction of our birds....disgraceful.
Thank you Jason for the work you do.

keith gray

14/3/2022 03:03:46 pm

Natural England = Aves holocaust

Natural England and the Government should stand trial for
genocide against wildlife.

Time for sustained protest outside Natural England offices.

Keith.

Andrew Holder link

14/3/2022 08:29:41 pm

I had no idea Jason. Thank you so much for all your hard work in highlighting the appalling way birds and animals are treated by the very agencies that should be protecting them.

Henry

14/3/2022 11:16:26 pm

The greater the exposure of Natural England policies the better. There is no way the wider population would support this level and range of culling. Their lack of transparency and accountability is not surprising. Thank you for your persistence and hard work!

Keith Dancey

15/3/2022 05:46:12 pm

There is a grave danger that most people commenting here are overlooking the most destructive ecological activity in the UK by far: shooting.

The Queen, Charles, William and Kate ALL shoot. What Natural England do is a great deal of good, and some (too much) harm. But it is NOTHING compared to what our Royal Family and the shooting industry do.

Keith LANE

16/3/2022 12:41:20 pm

Have you seen this today -
It's time that Natural England was abolished,
and that killing of ALL birds in UK was prohibited:
""The UK has been called one of the most nature-depleted countries, and the government has committed to protect 30% of land by 2030 to support wildlife recovery""
""We are setting out today a new approach to restoring our natural world, including improved protections for habitats and new long-term legally binding environment targets," said Environment Minister Rebecca Pow."
https://news.sky.com/story/legal-targets-on-air-pollution-and-wildlife-proposed-by-government-12567342

Keith Dancey

16/3/2022 04:43:38 pm

"It's time that Natural England was abolished"

Is that because you hate wildlife?

JASON ENDFIELD

Birds In Peril - Natural England Data Reveals Ongoing Destruction

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