Snapshots

Individual licences draw criticism

The National Gamekeepers’ Organisation (NGO) has indicated that it may take legal action following a recent announcement by Natural England concerning the issue of individual licences for the control of corvids.

Natural England, the Government’s adviser for the natural environment, recently published a letter to stakeholders saying that it will not automatically issue individual licences to control predatory birds such as crows and magpies where that control was not covered under the general licence, namely GL40.

In other words, green-listed songbirds such as the blackbird and chaffinch will no longer be offered automatic protection under the individual licence scheme.

In the letter, Dave Slater, Natural England’s director for wildlife licensing and enforcement cases, said that “where predation may well