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NGO asks members to write to their MP regarding the import of game bird eggs

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Avian flu restrictions in France are now beginning to ease, and the NGO have been asking their members to write to their Member of Parliament, requesting their support in seeking an emergency import licence from Defra. 

The H5N1 virus in France and other parts of mainland Europe has, as we know, been a huge cause for concern among many gamekeepers, shoot owners and shooters. The virus has meant that no game bird products, including eggs and poults, have been able to be imported to the UK from France, and this is still the case.

 
However, the restrictions are now beginning to ease, and the NGO have therefore been asking their members to write to their Member of Parliament, requesting their support in seeking an emergency import licence from Defra. 

Below is a template that can be used to write to both the minister in charge of Defra, and local MPs. The text can be copied and pasted into an email or letter, and the blanks filled in with further details and any missing, more specific, information.

You can find out who your MP is by visiting:
 
https://members.parliament.uk/FindYourMP
 
Other people that you might want to write to include:-
 
Natalie Prosser - Interim Chief Executive Officer, Department for Environment and Rural Affairs, 2 Marsham Street, SW1P 4DF
 
The Rt Hon The Lord Benyon - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Rural Affairs and Biosecurity, House of Lords, London, SW1A 0PW
 
 
Dear [INSERT MP NAME],
 

I am writing to you to ask for your support in seeking an emergency licence to import gamebird eggs and chicks from France.  France, like the UK and other parts of Europe have been hit by an avian influenza outbreak that has so far had dire consequences for the sector that I work in.  I am employed as [INSERT WHAT YOU DO AND WHO YOU WORK FOR].  My job is reliant on the importation of gamebird eggs and chicks from France, but because the UK has a 90 quarantine rule unlike the EU which is only 30 days,  I will [STATE WHAT WILL HAPPEN IF YOU DON'T GET BIRDS].

Game shooting is worth £2.5 billion each year to the UK economy. That will be dramatically reduced this coming season because of our failure to allow eggs and chicks to be imported from the key areas in France.

 
I would also like to ask you to safeguard my sector in the future by changing the rules to reduce the current 90-day quarantine period for the import of eggs and chicks from outside of the UK to 30 days to bring us in line with the EU.  This will at least allow us to plan for having a [BUSINESS / SHOOT] in 2023.
 
There will be many hundreds of rural employees out of work at a time when our economy is showing strong signs of a recession.  Until this avian influenza problem, we were [WHAT PROGRAMME WERE YOU PLANNING/HOW WERE BOOKINGS LOOKING?].  Being able to run our shoot over this coming season will mean we are able to support many part-time employees and small local businesses.  [YOU CAN ADD IN ANY LOCAL INFORMATION]
 
Please can you support us as a matter of urgency?
 
Yours sincerely,
 
[YOUR NAME]

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