Wild
Justice was set up by Chris Packham, Ruth Tingay and Mark Avery and was
launched on 13 February this year. Their first legal challenge was against the
General Licences issued by Natural England on 1 January this year, in their own
words it was to challenge the "casual killing of some birds"..
Late
yesterday afternoon Wild Justice heard that they had won their first legal
challenge
Announcing
the news Natural England released the follow press release
Natural
England is revoking three general licences for controlling certain wild birds
as of Thursday 25 April 2019.
These
licences (GL 04/05/06) cover 16 species of birds including several members of
the crow family, Canada goose, some gulls and pigeons.
The
change follows a legal challenge to the way the licences have been issued,
which could mean users who rely on them are not acting lawfully.
Natural
England is working at pace to put in place over the next few weeks alternative
measures to allow lawful control of these bird species to continue where
necessary. In the meantime, once the licences have been revoked and until new
licences are issued, anyone needing to control one of these 16 bird species
where there is no reasonable non-lethal alternative will need to apply for an
individual licence.
The
action is the first stage of a planned review of general and class licences,
which will be completed this year.
Natural
England’s interim chief executive Marian Spain said: We recognise this change
will cause disruption for some people, but we are working hard to ensure it is
kept to a minimum.
We will
bring forward interim measures as quickly as possible as the first stage of our
planned review of the licences. We want to make sure our licensing system is
robust and proportionate, taking into account the needs of wildlife and people.
What to
do if you use a general licence
It is expected that, over time, many situations currently covered by the three general licences will be covered by new licences.
It is expected that, over time, many situations currently covered by the three general licences will be covered by new licences.
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