Regular readers of this blog will be aware of the situation that has developed over the last couple of months concerning General Licences, which I have blogged about here, here and here. There has been a further development so here is an update as to what has happened and what we think about the news.
After a drawn out and a poorly handled process Defra has finally issued three new General Licences to directly replace those which were revoked following the legal challenge by Wild Justice. Whilst there are definitely some improvements, which we welcome, there are still a number of issues which need to be addressed.
I’ll start by addressing the positive changes. It’s good to see that both herring gull and lesser black-backed gulls have been completely removed from all three licences. Both are declining species and of conservation concern, so this is a welcome measure. It is also useful to see the additional clarification regarding using lethal control on protected sites. Hopefully this updated information can prevent any misuse of General Licences in the future.
Now onto what we still perceive to be major issues. Whilst we acknowledge that Defra has removed jay from the public health and safety and prevention of damage licences, this does not go far enough. The inclusion of any species on a General Licence should be based on science. There is no clear evidence to warrant the inclusion of jay, along with rook, magpie and jackdaw, on the licence to control birds for conservation purposes, something which we highlighted in Defra's call for evidence, so we continue to question why they are still included on any General Licence.
The lack of a legal requirement for the user to keep records, is a fundamental flaw in the new licences and we question why this hasn’t been included. Proper record keeping would help to ensure that users are complying with the law by demonstrating that they have taken reasonable measures to avoid lethal control and would also allow Defra to be satisfied that these licences are legally compliant.
We maintain the position that a full review of the licencing system is needed, and that today's announcement is only a first step in creating a licencing system that better delivers for wildlife across the country.