BIRDLIFE INTERNATIONAL

View email in browser Hi John, We hope to see many of you at our upcoming State of the World’s Birds webinar so we can share more about the difference your support is helping to make. In the meantime, we hope you enjoy catching up on some wonderful news for birds and nature this month. Want to inspire others? Click here to forward these highlights. More than 1.25 million voices for nature! Around 30 campaigners stand in a paved plaza holding banners in front of a large glass and brick office building. A red banner shows the number 1,254,722 and a white one reads “Hands Off Nature.” A banner reading “Democracy” hangs on the building behind them. So many of you were among the 1.25 million people who raised their voices for nature through #HandsOffNature. Now those voices have been taken directly to the European Commission, sending a powerful message that the laws protecting Europe’s birds, wildlife and water must remain strong. We'll keep you updated but until then, thank you! The worlds first unified birding checklist has been updated A small dark House swift with a white rump patch in flight against a soft green background, its long, swept-back wings held out and one wing raised. Following its launch in 2025 as a consensus-formed taxonomy for every species of bird found on planet Earth, the AviList checklist has now been released in a revised 2026 version. This is the first in what is set to be an annual update each October. See the headline changes New digital series spotlights global effort to protect migratory birds A camera monitor on a film rig shows four large, long-necked birds flying in a loose line across a peach-colored sunset sky. Behind the monitor, a green field stretches to a glowing horizon. If you haven't already seen, we have launched a digital film series, in collaboration with Content With Purpose, that brings together scientists, conservationists, communities, organisations and local voices to reveal the global effort to protect migratory birds. Watch the journeys that connect our world Supporter photo spotlight A small Aruban burrowing owl with bright yellow eyes stands upright on a pale rock, facing the camera. Its plumage is brown and cream with spotted markings, and white rocks and a blurred pale ground surround it A big thank you to David E. Fitzgibbons for sharing this wonderful photo of an Aruban burrowing owl. In David’s words “Endemic to the island of Aruba, the Aruban Burrowing Owl, is beloved by the islanders and nicknamed the ‘Shoco’.” The Shoco appears on the 50 Florin banknote, as well as several national stamps. David adds “In 2013 the population was estimated at 200 breeding pairs. The decline of the Shoco is due to the development on the island, nest destruction, and predation by the boa constrictor,” a non-native species. “While exploring the island I found myself in an abandoned construction site watching some Black Bellied Whistling Ducks frolic in a large puddle. It was then I saw the Shoco leave his ground nest and alight to some rocks.” For your chance to be featured, send us your best shots and a short paragraph about it to: howtohelp@birdlife.org. Get your photography featured Online talk and Q&A: State of the World's Birds RSVP today Thank you for your support, Mairianne Walker | BirdLife International Supporter Team From £5 you can be part of our global community helping to bring birds back from the brink. Check out our memberships. 10% off on a BirdLife Bundle! Get everything you need to take out birding. All purchases can help birds and nature thrive. Need a Will? Estate planning doesn’t have to be complicated. We’re offering a free, easy-to-use resource to help. Get started! LinkedIn Instagram Facebook YouTube Website You are receiving this email because you opted-in to hear from BirdLife International BirdLife International is a registered charity 1042125 Address: BirdLife International, The David Attenborough Building, Pembroke Street, Cambridge, CB2 3QZ, UK For full details on how we collect, use and store your personal information see our Privacy Policy. update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list. Copyright © 2026, All rights reserved.

ROM PROTECT THE WILD. GAME CHANGERS WITH MONTHLY DONATIONS

Forwarded this email? Subscribe here for more We’ve done it again. This time, on Channel 4 News. PROTECT THE WILD OCT 31 READ IN APP For the second time in less than six months, we’ve blown the lid off the shooting industry on national television. First it was ITV, and last night it was Channel 4 News. And I cannot begin to tell you how proud I am of what we’re achieving. Back in May, ITV News broadcast our undercover investigation exposing the horrific reality of how millions of pheasants and partridges are intensively farmed across Britain, just so people can blast them out of the sky for fun. This time, I headed to the Channel 4 studios to sit down with Alex Thomson and expose the shooting industry’s shocking disregard for wildlife, the countryside and the environment. Once again, we’re bringing what this industry would rather keep hidden into the national spotlight. Dead birds and plastic waste dumped into enormous piles and set on fire. A baby pheasant found ALIVE in a pile waiting to be burned. Rotting carcasses left for wild animals to scavenge. And 22,000 birds gassed following a bird flu outbreak, with our footage raising serious questions about biosecurity and the potential risks to wild birds. Become a Game Changer Two major investigations. Two of the biggest news broadcasters in Britain. Less than six months apart. For a relatively small organisation taking on an industry with enormous financial resources, powerful lobbying groups and political connections, this is a bloody big achievement. And there’s something else that makes this so important. We’re just days away from the end of DEFRA’s call for evidence into the impacts of game-bird shooting. At the very moment the government is examining this industry, we’re helping expose its practices to a national audience. And we’re far from finished. Over the coming weeks, we’ll be releasing several further investigations, going into much greater detail about what our cameras uncovered. This is just the beginning. When we launched our campaign to End Bird Shooting, we set ourselves an ambitious target of reaching 1,000 Game Changers (people donating monthly to fund this work) by the end of 2026. Well, after last night, I want us to aim even higher. Let’s reach 1,000 Game Changers by the end of October. Become a Game Changer Because this is exactly what your monthly donations are helping make possible. Undercover investigators gathering evidence. Hundreds of hours of footage being reviewed. Investigations developed into stories that reach millions of people through national television. You’re seeing exactly where your money goes. And you’re seeing the difference it’s making. Imagine what we could achieve with 1,000 people funding this work every single month. More investigations. More national exposure. More pressure on the shooting industry. And ultimately, a much stronger campaign to bring bird shooting for sport to an end. I’m incredibly proud of everyone who’s helped make this possible. But believe me, we’re only just getting started. If you want to help us expose what else this industry is hiding, please become a Game Changer today. There are 777 Game Changers at the time of sending this email out. Will you become one of the first 1,000? Become a Game Changer SHARE LIKE COMMENT RESTACK © 2026 Protect the Wild Protect the Wild, 71-75 Shelton Street Covent Garden, London, W2CH 9JQ Unsubscribe Start your Substack

FROM PROTECT THE WILD AND A MAIN NEWS CHANNEL AGAIN ON INDUSTRIAL GAME BIRD REARING

Forwarded this email? Subscribe here for more We’ve done it again. This time, on Channel 4 News. PROTECT THE WILD OCT 31 READ IN APP For the second time in less than six months, we’ve blown the lid off the shooting industry on national television. First it was ITV, and last night it was Channel 4 News. And I cannot begin to tell you how proud I am of what we’re achieving. Back in May, ITV News broadcast our undercover investigation exposing the horrific reality of how millions of pheasants and partridges are intensively farmed across Britain, just so people can blast them out of the sky for fun. This time, I headed to the Channel 4 studios to sit down with Alex Thomson and expose the shooting industry’s shocking disregard for wildlife, the countryside and the environment. Once again, we’re bringing what this industry would rather keep hidden into the national spotlight. Dead birds and plastic waste dumped into enormous piles and set on fire. A baby pheasant found ALIVE in a pile waiting to be burned. Rotting carcasses left for wild animals to scavenge. And 22,000 birds gassed following a bird flu outbreak, with our footage raising serious questions about biosecurity and the potential risks to wild birds. Become a Game Changer Two major investigations. Two of the biggest news broadcasters in Britain. Less than six months apart. For a relatively small organisation taking on an industry with enormous financial resources, powerful lobbying groups and political connections, this is a bloody big achievement. And there’s something else that makes this so important. We’re just days away from the end of DEFRA’s call for evidence into the impacts of game-bird shooting. At the very moment the government is examining this industry, we’re helping expose its practices to a national audience. And we’re far from finished. Over the coming weeks, we’ll be releasing several further investigations, going into much greater detail about what our cameras uncovered. This is just the beginning. When we launched our campaign to End Bird Shooting, we set ourselves an ambitious target of reaching 1,000 Game Changers (people donating monthly to fund this work) by the end of 2026. Well, after last night, I want us to aim even higher. Let’s reach 1,000 Game Changers by the end of October. Become a Game Changer Because this is exactly what your monthly donations are helping make possible. Undercover investigators gathering evidence. Hundreds of hours of footage being reviewed. Investigations developed into stories that reach millions of people through national television. You’re seeing exactly where your money goes. And you’re seeing the difference it’s making. Imagine what we could achieve with 1,000 people funding this work every single month. More investigations. More national exposure. More pressure on the shooting industry. And ultimately, a much stronger campaign to bring bird shooting for sport to an end. I’m incredibly proud of everyone who’s helped make this possible. But believe me, we’re only just getting started. If you want to help us expose what else this industry is hiding, please become a Game Changer today. There are 777 Game Changers at the time of sending this email out. Will you become one of the first 1,000? Become a Game Changer SHARE LIKE COMMENT RESTACK © 2026 Protect the Wild Protect the Wild, 71-75 Shelton Street Covent Garden, London, W2CH 9JQ Unsubscribe Start your Substack

THE QUORN HUNT TRAINING TO KILL

View this email in your browser Hi, Supporter QUORN HUNT TRAINING HOUNDS TO KILL: WRITE TO YOUR MP The Hunt Saboteurs Association is asking our supporters to contact their MPs following the release of horrific drone footage involving the Quorn Hunt in Leicestershire. Members of the Quorn Hunt use the fox’s body to encourage hounds to tear it apart. Image: Northants Hunt Saboteurs On Friday 16 October 2026, Northants Hunt Saboteurs filmed an incident near Kirby Bellars in which a fox was killed by hounds during a Quorn Hunt cubbing meet. Hounds converge on the fox as hunt staff look on. Image: Northants Hunt Saboteurs The footage shows hounds seizing and tearing at the fox while hunt staff intervene to repeatedly encourage the hounds to attack. A hunting horn can be seen being blown over the hounds to reinforce the association between the horn call and the kill! Take action: Contact your MP Don’t let this disturbing footage go unnoticed. Write to your MP, ask them to watch the video and to support robust legislation to strengthen the Hunting Act. Template letter below: Organised Hunts hunting as usual – Famous Quorn Hunt filmed killing a fox Dear [MP] The 1st November will see the official start of the foxhunting season, but hunts have been out since August training their hounds to hunt and kill. This is called autumn hunting by them and cub hunting by the rest of us. This is illustrated by the film we obtained taken from a drone showing the Quorn Hunt killing a fox. This is ‘trail hunting’ in its bloody reality, and it happened just a few days ago, on the eve of the BHSA’s National Trail Hunting Day. The full video can be viewed here: https://www.huntsabs.org.uk/smokescreen-saturday-exposed/ Cub hunting is not some isolated activity. It is the preparation for the hunting season ahead. Throughout the autumn, young hounds are taught what to chase, what to kill and how to respond to the huntsman’s commands. What they learn – or fail to learn – during these crucial weeks sets the tone for the entire season. This is what makes the Quorn Hunt footage so damning. It shows hounds being deliberately encouraged to seize and tear at a fox, with hunt staff repeatedly intervening to reinforce that behaviour. As the British Hound Sports Association (BHSA) and the Countryside Alliance prepared to showcase so-called 'trail hunting' on National Trail Hunting Day - aka Smokescreen Saturday - the Quorn Hunt provided a horrifying glimpse of the reality behind the myth of trail laying. The BHSA and defenders of so-called trail hunting want the public to believe the same hounds will spend the season following scent trails. Yet here they are, being trained on foxes, and of course, killing to the delight of the hunters. The footage strikes at the very heart of the trail hunting smokescreen. We need parliament to finish the consultation and push through a real hunting ban in the next parliament term as promised in the manifesto. Regards [Name] [Address] Find contact details for your MP here Join the Hunt Saboteurs Association! Support our vital work by becoming a member. Join The HSA Spread the word! Please share our news Share via email Facebook icon Instagram icon Twitter icon Logo Copyright (C) 2026 Hunt Saboteurs Association. All rights reserved. You were subscribed to the newsletter from Hunt Saboteurs Association. Our mailing address is: BM HSA, London, WC1N 3XX, U.K. Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe

FROM PROTECT THE WILD. THE WELSH SENEDD AND A PROPOSED BADGER CULL

Forwarded this email? Subscribe here for more All out on 10 November for badgers! Come to the demonstration at the Senedd in Cardiff to demand NO BADGER CULL. ELIZA EGRET OCT 27 READ IN APP With a badger cull in Cymru looking increasingly likely, your voice is needed in Cardiff on Tuesday, 10 November. This is YOUR chance to take a stand. Join Protect the Wild alongside the Badger Trust, local groups and individuals, both outside and inside the Senedd, to demand no badger cull. The message is simple, Wales has shown another way; it should not repeat England’s failed and costly badger cull, but focus on real solutions. The schedule for the day is as follows: 11am - 2.30pm: Peaceful demonstration outside the Senedd. Let’s show that people across Wales want to protect wildlife and support genuine - solutions to bovine TB. 👉 12pm - 1.30pm: Talks inside the Senedd media room. The Badger Trust will host an event for MSs, stakeholders, supporters and the media, setting out why Wales should protect its science-led, cull-free approach to bovine TB. Guest speakers include: Dr Dick Sibley BVSc Hon FRCVS: Cattle vet with five decades’ experience in herd health and infectious disease, including frontline work on bovine TB. Rosie Wood, Chair of Trustees, Badger Trust. In England, a quarter of a million badgers were culled over thirteen years, only for Keir Starmer’s Labour government to declare the killing “ineffective”. Wales, on the other hand, has consistently proven that it doesn’t need a badger cull to fight bovine TB. Instead of following England’s failed path of mass slaughter, it must double down on smarter cattle testing, better biosecurity, and upcoming cow vaccines. A cull would only waste public money and distract from the scientific solutions that actually stop disease transmission. On top of this, Wales is already one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world. Its wildlife faces intense pressure from habitat loss, pollution, and climate change, and it cannot afford to lose any more. The Badger Trust says: “Badgers are protected native wildlife. They belong in Wales and should be part of nature’s recovery, not its decline.” Take action with these easy steps! Join the demonstration outside the Senedd on Tuesday 10 November. Sign the Senedd petition here, demanding no badger cull! Contact your MS, asking them to attend the Senedd event and urging them to keep Wales cull-free. For more information, visit the Badger Trust’s Keep Cymru Cull Free page here. SHARE LIKE COMMENT RESTACK © 2026 Protect the Wild Protect the Wild, 71-75 Shelton Street Covent Garden, London, W2CH 9JQ Unsubscribe Start your Substack

AN IMMENSE POST FROM ROB POWNALL. PHEASANT FARMING AND POLLUTION

Forwarded this email? Subscribe here for more They want to breed 32,000 birds to be shot. Help us stop them. PROTECT THE WILD OCT 25 READ IN APP On the edge of the Cranborne Chase National Landscape, near Brixton Deverill in Wiltshire, sits a pheasant rearing field. Part of Woodcombe Farm, it contains twelve sheds, up to 2,000 pheasant and partridge chicks in each, raised to be shot. That’s not enough for Woodcombe. It wants four more sheds, taking the site to 16 sheds and 32,000 birds. That’s another 8,000 birds a ‘season’. We oppose these sites on principle, of course. End Bird Shooting is supporting Communities Against Factory Farming (CAFF) in objecting to planning application PL/2026/02714. Wiltshire Council’s own ecologist has already lodged a formal objection. We need you to add yours. Here’s why… Sign Our Petition A chalk stream under pressure The site lies around 200 metres from the River Wylye, a chalk stream that forms the headwaters of the River Avon Special Area of Conservation (SAC). Chalk streams are among the rarest freshwater habitats on Earth. Around 85% of all the chalk streams on Earth are located in England. a fish swimming in a shallow body of water Photo by Jon Sailer on Unsplash The River Avon is protected for its Atlantic salmon, sea and brook lamprey, bullhead, and its precious chalk-stream plant life. This river is already struggling with phosphorus pollution. Natural England now requires new development in the catchment to prove “nutrient neutrality”, meaning no net increase in phosphorus. Thousands of confined birds produce vast quantities of droppings. Those droppings carry phosphorus and ammonia into soil and water. Wiltshire County Council’s ecologist has warned that the expansion could harm the SAC through phosphorus discharge, alone or combined with other development. She has said permission cannot be granted unless the Council completes a Habitats Regulations Assessment that reaches a positive conclusion and Natural England agrees with it. The applicant has supplied no nutrient evidence at all. Her objection doesn’t stop there. Aerial photographs show large areas of bare ground left by the existing rearing operation. She also concludes the scheme does not appear to qualify for the biodiversity net gain exemption the applicant has claimed. Sign Our Petition Salami Slicing? Woodcombe has grown its rearing facility in steps: 7 sheds in 2018 10 sheds in 2022 12 sheds in 2024 an enlarged boundary in December 2025 and now a request for yet more sheds. Together these applications add up to a substantial, intensive operation that has never been screened for a full Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). Planners call this “salami slicing”: dividing one large project into smaller applications that each slip under the thresholds for proper scrutiny. The courts have been clear that environmental rules cannot be sidestepped this way, whether by design or by accident. We can’t state definitively that ‘salami slicing’ is driving the staggered expansion at Woodcombe, but CAFF calculates that, if assessed as a single installation, the 16-shed site would exceed the 500m² threshold at which intensive livestock units must be considered for EIA. The council must assess the whole operation, not just the latest slice. There’s more. Only last December, the council capped the site at twelve units to protect the National Landscape and neighbours. Less than a year later, the applicant wants to break that cap. Their own Supporting Statement even says there is “ample room” for two more sheds, yet they are applying for four. Sign Our Petition Cruelty by design The breeding and rearing of birds for the gun as a whole is inherently cruel. Our undercover Investigations series has documented chicks tipped onto conveyor belts, live chicks found chirping beneath dumped eggs, filthy breeding cages, and the “dead week” when worn-out birds are disposed of. And all these birds are being raised so that armed hobbyists can blast holes into them anyway. What does the applicant have to say about animal welfare? Nothing. The Supporting Statement is a single page. It talks about demand, rotation and traffic, but the words “animal welfare” don’t appear once. The High Court confirmed last year that animal welfare can be a material planning consideration. The applicant hasn’t addressed it at all. Act now The Woodcombe application is about more than four sheds. It’s about whether an industry that breeds birds in their millions to be shot for entertainment can keep expanding, unchecked - and in this case by one of England’s most precious rivers. If you live in Wiltshire: use CAFF’s quick objection tool at caff.org.uk/woodcombe. It takes a couple of minutes, and you can add your own reasons for objecting. Tool for Wiltshire residents If you live elsewhere in England please add your name to Protect the Wild’s email petition here: Stop the expansion of a pheasant rearing site in Wiltshire Wiltshire residents who would prefer to send an objection directly to Wiltshire County Council can email: developmentmanagement@wiltshire.gov.uk. Please state that you are objecting, include your full name and address, and quote the planning application reference PL/2026/02714. Every objection counts. Please share this with anyone who cares about wildlife, rivers or animals. Let’s make sure Wiltshire Council hears us loud and clear. Sign Our Petition We are working to END BIRD SHOOTING. This suffering has to stop. Please share this article. Share our socials. Follow us for updates. Join the movement. Become a Game Changer. We have been hard at work. Months of undercover work. Hundreds of hours of footage. Farms across the UK exposed. We are making a difference. But we are only just getting started. Many of you have already become a Game Changer, standing with us as we take this fight forward, week by week, piece by piece, until the public, the media and the politicians can no longer look away. We are extremely grateful. We are reaching a larger audience all the time, though, many who won’t know that Game Changers helps us fund investigations, take on staff, and make us more effective. So we are going to repeat the call here - this is just the beginning, please be a part of it. Become a Game Changer SHARE LIKE COMMENT RESTACK © 2026 Protect the Wild Protect the Wild, 71-75 Shelton Street Covent Garden, London, W2CH 9JQ Unsubscribe Start your Substack

FROM PROTECT THE WILD WITH ROB POWNALL. HE HAS OVERLOOKED THE ´PET´ INDUSTRY

Forwarded this email? Subscribe here for more I need to admit something... There's an entire industry I've overlooked for years. That's about to change. ROB POWNALL OCT 21 READ IN APP Until fairly recently, the commercial pet trade wasn’t an issue I’d given much thought to. But I came across the video below and it’s been stuck in my head ever since. When we think of pets, we think of animals being loved, cared for and treated as members of the family. We walk past rabbits, hamsters, birds and reptiles in pet shops without really questioning it. We assume there are rules in place, that the animals are being looked after, and that everything is generally okay. But the more I’ve started looking into this industry, the more I’ve realised just how wrong that assumption can be. According to UK Pet Food’s 2026 research, there are an estimated 36.5 million pets in the UK, with 62% of households owning at least one. That’s an extraordinary number of animals. Yet how much do we really know about the industry supplying them? Where are these animals bred? What conditions are they kept in? How are they transported? How many die before they’re ever sold? And what happens to the countless animals who are bought, unwanted and eventually abandoned? For an industry involving so many millions of lives, the lack of public scrutiny is sickening. We’re talking about rabbits spending their lives confined in hutches, hamsters unable to carry out their most basic natural behaviours, parrots denied the opportunity to fly, and reptiles kept in enclosures that don’t come close to meeting their needs. Rescue Not Retail For some of these animals, suffering isn’t something that happens to them occasionally. It’s the only life they’ll ever know. Yet we’ve somehow normalised the idea that living, feeling creatures can be bred, displayed in shops and sold to anyone willing to pay for them. The more I think about it, the harder I find it to understand why this isn’t a much bigger issue. So we’re doing something about it. I’m incredibly excited to announce that Rescue Not Retail is officially joining the Protect the Wild family. Rescue Not Retail is an existing campaign dedicated to challenging the commercial pet trade, exposing the suffering hidden within it and ultimately ending the sale of live animals in pet shops. And we’re not planning to simply raise awareness. We’re going to investigate the businesses involved, scrutinise the laws supposedly protecting them, and explore every opportunity to hold those responsible for suffering to account. We’ll combine investigations, research, legal work and public campaigning to challenge an industry that has avoided serious scrutiny for far too long. Our ambition is to turn Rescue Not Retail into a major national campaign capable of forcing genuine change. Rescue Not Retail But what does this have to do with British wildlife? Quite a lot, actually. The exotic pet trade can directly affect wild populations, while escaped or released non-native animals can threaten native wildlife and ecosystems. But for me, there’s something even more fundamental. We campaign against the shooting industry breeding millions of pheasants to be killed for entertainment. We fight against the persecution of foxes and badgers. We challenge the idea that animals exist simply for human enjoyment or profit. A snake rack system in a UK pet shop (pic: Rescue Not Retail) So why should our compassion end when an animal is kept behind glass in a pet shop instead of living in the British countryside? Whether it’s a fox being chased by hounds, a pheasant bred to be shot or a rabbit confined to a tiny cage, these are animals whose lives should matter. And as an organisation that exists to challenge animal exploitation, I believe this is an issue we simply cannot ignore. We need you to be part of this. Rescue Not Retail is only just getting started, but I genuinely believe it has the potential to become something enormous. There is so much we want to investigate, so many questions that need answering and an entire industry that needs challenging. And as we’ve shown time and again at Protect the Wild, when enough people come together, we can force issues onto the national agenda that those responsible would much rather keep hidden. So today, I’m asking you to back Rescue Not Retail from the very beginning. Rescue Not Retail Please sign up to Rescue Not Retail and receive our campaign emails, investigations and opportunities to take action. Giving us your support and helping us build this movement would mean an enormous amount. Thank you :) SHARE LIKE COMMENT RESTACK © 2026 Protect the Wild Protect the Wild, 71-75 Shelton Street Covent Garden, London, W2CH 9JQ Unsubscribe Start your Substack