FROM LEGALJUSTICE

Good afternoon!  

 

It's unusual for us to send a newsletter out at any time other than the early morning. But this is hot news - today we have started a new legal challenge of Defra's lack of monitoring of compliance with regulations on gamebird releases (General Licence 43 (GL43)). 

 

GL43 came into being when Wild Justice caused Defra to back down rather than face us in court over the issue of whether unlimited releases of tens of millions of non-native gamebirds (Red-legged Partridges and Pheasants) damage sites of high nature conservation value (click here) . We have never been happy with the provisions of GL43 but recent events have increased our concerns.

 

Natural England tells us that it doesn't monitor compliance with GL43 - it says it's Defra's responsibility. Defra tells us it doesn't monitor compliance either. So, no-one does and we have no way of knowing whether the regulations, which are a half-hearted attempt to protect sites from damage, are working or not - even in terms of whether the game-shooting industry is complying with the regulations.

 

That's the essence of our concern - click here for more details in our blog - and stay subscribed to this newsletter for more information.

 

This challenge is relevant to the consultation in Wales over the introduction of regulations to limit gamebird releases there - we'll be sending out another newsletter, probably tomorrow, on that subject and to help you respond to the consultation.

 

We see that BASC has been huffing and puffing about GL43. It's not clear that BASC has actually started a legal challenge – be in no doubt, we have!

 

If you like what we do and would like to make a donation which will be used across our range of work, then please consider donating through PayPal, bank transfer or a cheque in the post - see details here. Thank you for all your donations.

 

That's it for now. We couldn't do any of this without you.    

 

Thank you,

OSPREY DOUND SHOT IN TYNE & WEAR

OSPREY FOUND ALIVE BUT LATER EUTHANISED WITH FOUR SHOT GUN PELLETS SHOWN ON THE X-RAY- THE KILLERS ARE OUT THERE

An Osprey has been euthanised after being found with shotgun injuries in Washington, Tyne & Wear on 26th May 2023. An article on the Planet Radio Metro website (here) states the Osprey 'was spotted bleeding and lying on his back by a worker at the Crowther Industrial Estate in Washington, Tyne and Wear, after he […]

Read the full report on Raptor Persecution UK

FROM LEGAL JUSTICE

Good morning!  

 

Yesterday we told you about our legal challenge to the weak regulations governing releasing gamebirds (Red-legged Partridges and Pheasants) in England. Thank you for all your messages of support. Today we are asking you to spend a few minutes, probably about 10 minutes, helping the authorities in Wales to do a better job.

 

Natural Resources Wales (NRW) is consulting on future regulations to control gamebird releases. Their plans are to adopt a very similar set of regulations to those in England. We think there are lessons to be learned from the English regulations, and that Wales could do better, but we generally support the measures being proposed.

 

The consultation paper can be found here - click here. It closes in 12 days' time so there are two weekends and eight other days in which to respond. Here are our suggestions for how to respond but you must make up your own mind as to what you say - but please do respond regardless of where in the UK you live.

 

The first three questions relate to your personal details. Here are the remaining five main questions, Questions 4-8, related to these measures, in blue ink and our suggested responses also in blue ink:

PEASE READ THEIR ENTIRE ARTICLE

PROTECTORS OF THE WILD

View this email in your browser In May, Protect the Wild launched a new project – ‘Protectors of the Wild’, a free resource to help us all become ‘eyes in the field’ by learning how to recognise, record, and report wildlife crime and wildlife persecution. As our Protectors landing page says, “Have you ever wondered what UK law says about hunting with dogs, shooting, or collecting bird eggs? Or what protection foxes, badgers, bats, and birds of prey have? Whether a gamekeeper is using a snare, spring trap, or a cage trap legally? Wanted to know more about operating drones, using airguns, or driving quad bikes legally? What the different forms of trespass are, what constitutes assault, or what we should do if we’re arrested?” You have? Well so did we! So we set out to put as much information as possible in a series of pages packed with headline facts and FAQs using a clean and simple, mobile-friendly design.   We are proud to say that we have now written thirty separate pages and we’ve asked and answered over 300 FAQs! To cover as many bases as possible we even have an interactive map listing monitor tip-off lines and contact numbers for wildlife rescues.   A renowned covert investigator has already called Protectors ‘an amazing legal resource - perhaps the best anywhere’, but we’re certainly not satisfied yet! We update pages and add information every day (we just can’t help ourselves). In fact, we’ve added new information on netting hedges, snare use in Northern Ireland, and the use of mannequins on grouse moors in just the last few days. We want everyone who wants to protect the wild to feel a part of the Protectors project, so we’ll be writing a newsletter once a month updating supporters and letting you know about new pages we’ve written or new contacts we’ve added to our map. But - and this is where you, our brilliant supporters come in - we can’t possibly know everybody or have thought of every question that might need answering or every situation someone might find themselves in. If you’d like to offer feedback, we’d welcome it. But maybe you’ve found a mistake or discovered an arcane piece of legislation you think we really ought to know about? Perhaps you have specialist knowledge about how some wildlife laws differ between England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland? Maybe you run a monitoring group or know a wildlife rescue that we could add to our contact map? Or perhaps you’d like to help spread the ‘Protectors’ message and would like to talk with us or invite us to an event? We’re continually looking for ways to improve and expand Protectors of the Wild – for the benefit of animals and all of us – so please let us know using our dedicated email address (protectors@protectthewild.org.uk) Thank you Copyright © 2023 PROTECT THE WILD LTD, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you opted in via our website. Our mailing address is: PROTECT THE WILD LTD 71-75 Shelton Street Covent Garden, London WC2H 9JQ Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.

ANOTHER FACT OF DEATH AND ILLEGAL ACTIVITY FROM ROPTOR PERSECUTION UK

  NOW ITS 95 HEN HARRIERS GONE MISSING ON OR NEAR SHOOTING AREAS

For anyone who still wants to pretend that the grouse shooting industry isn’t responsible for the systematic extermination of hen harriers on grouse moors across the UK, here’s the latest catalogue of crime that suggests otherwise. [This male hen harrier died in 2019 after his leg was almost severed in an illegally set trap that […]

Read more of this post

FROM RAPTOR PERSECUTION UK

 

RSPB has issued a press release this morning announcing the suspicious disappearance of two more satellite-tagged hen harriers over a two week period in May. One of them, called 'Rush', is the harrier whose suspicious disappearance Lancashire Police mentioned on their Facebook page a couple of weeks ago (here). The suspicious disappearance of a […] Read more of this post

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THE PLIGHT OF HEN HARRIERS SHOWN ON SPRING WATCH ON THE BBC

 SPRING WATCH THIS SPRING AND INTO SUMMER IS A GREAT ONE.

Apart from everything else it shows, tells and explains many things.

Tonight we had a presentation by Frank Gardiner and an RSPB investigator. They showed and spoke of Hen Harriers. There is a war going out there on these marvellous birds and when they are on or near grouse moors they will suffer. Five pairs that have nested in this one location have experienced a missing male for two of the nests.. That results in a nest failure. 

The hunting organisations deny any wrong doing. I follow Raptor Persecution UK & Legal Justice and I would like every conservation minded to do so as well.

So watch again tomorrow night and for the next two nights and support the conservators.