Tell us: have you spotted any netting to stop birds nesting? - RSPB

We would like your help exploring the practice of netting trees so they can be removed for construction

Guardian readers

Thu 28 Mar 2019 14.35 GMTLast modified on Fri 29 Mar 2019 12.50 GMT

The RSPB is urging the public to sign a petition to help change the law on the practice of bird netting in the UK.

 Are nets to stop swallows nesting any way to treat the natural world?

Across the UK there are reports of builders and developers using nets on trees to stop birds nesting so that they can be removed in order for building work to take place.

Developers have said it is “standard practice” in order to prevent birds from nesting in a habitat that might be damaged by building work. But the charity says it hopes the petition, which has so far gathered over 170,000 signatures, will result in netting being made illegal: “We cannot keep trying to squeeze nature into smaller and smaller spaces or demanding it fits in with our plans,” it says. “People around the country are dismayed to hear about cases where birds returning from long journeys are being deliberately excluded from sites where they might choose to raise their young.”

We would like to hear from you if you have seen bird netting where you live or work or taken pictures of it and acted. We will collate some of your contributions and feature some of them as part of our reporting.

How to share your story

To get in touch fill out the form below. There is also an option to upload photographs – please tell us where and when they were taken but do not take any legal or personal risks when doing so.

Continued