Important information for all keepers operating on and near European protected sites in England

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Yesterday, Tuesday 30 May 2023, the general licence covering releasing of pheasants and red-legged partridges on European protected sites expired. Despite numerous warnings and communications from both the NGO and others within the shooting community, DEFRA have failed to publish a new GL43. This therefore makes it illegal to release gamebirds on or within 500m of special protection areas (SPAs) or special areas of conservation (SACs) without applying and securing an individual licence. 

The NGO previously informed our members of proposed changes to GL43 – the licence which covers the release of common pheasants or red-legged partridges on European Protected Sites and within 500m of their boundary in England.  

On Wednesday 10 May 2023 we were told that as of 31 May 2023 (ie, 21 days’ after we first received notice of this change), the release of pheasants or red-legged partridge on or within 500m of special protection areas (SPAs) or special areas of conservation (SACs) would no longer be authorised under general licence in England. The reason given was due to the potential spread of Avian Influenza. 

We responded stating that we were astounded by how unprofessionally the situation had been handled, and that the decision to implement substantive changes to releasing on or within 500m of an SPA at such short notice and with absolute zero stakeholder engagement is unacceptable and unjustified to say the least, if not unlawful. 

The current General Licence which permits the release and management of gamebirds on and near European Protected sites expired on Tuesday 30 May 2023.  

The NGO received an email yesterday from the Team Leader in the General Licensing Team. This read: 

“Defra’s Gamebird General Licence (GL43) expires today (30 May 2023). We will publish the new licence, along with supporting evidence and assessments, as soon as possible. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause. The current licence will be withdrawn from the gov.uk website at 8.30am tomorrow.  

You must not release common pheasants (Phasianus colchicus) or red-legged partridges (Alectoris rufa) into the wild within Special Protection Areas (SPAs), Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) or within 500 metres of their boundaries, except under a licence. 

If you are planning to release these gamebirds on or near these sites in the near future, please contact Natural England via gamebirds@naturalengland.org.uk regarding an individual licence.”  

Further to this, we have now received confirmation from DEFRA that in the absence of a GL43, as of today all releases on SACs and SPAs are prohibited. DEFRA added that: "Under the new GL (hopefully soon) the prohibition will apply to only SPAs." Until that licence is live however, releases are prohibited except under an individual licence. 

“To describe this as a shambles would be an understatement” commented John Clarke, Development Officer for the National Gamekeepers’ Organisation. “We and other shooting organisations specifically requested early communication if the General Licence were to change, as estates and shoots will now have made significant financial commitments for the season ahead. We have constantly asked DEFRA for further updates since their first announcement, and have received very little in response. Now the previous Licence has expired, and we are still in the dark as to what is going on.  

“The lack of prior information on this decision could now mean financial ruin and the loss of jobs for many people, which is exactly why we were so keen to engage and seek early communication on the matter.”   

We would urge anyone who is planning to release game in these areas over the summer to contact Natural England via gamebirds@naturalengland.org.uk regarding an individual licence as soon as possible. We cannot be sure when or if another GL43 will be published. The boundaries and buffer of SACs and SPAs can be found here: common pheasant and red-legged partridge releases map.  

The NGO have written to the Secretary of State to raise our concerns about the unprofessional way in which this has been handled. The way this debacle has been handles gives the impression that DEFRA have little understanding of how both general licences and the gamebird sector more widely operate, which we find extremely worrying, to say the least.