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Changes To The General Licence


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14 minutes ago, lancer425 said:

Ditchman hang on in there, just keep on with the scarecrows and bangers , and if NE are good to their word you will have a new\general license in place this week.

Then if your attempts to curtail pigeon activity on your patch prove a failure and you snapped a few scarecrow pics  with your mobile for the record. Then you can resort to lethal force given no other option.

Your optimistic, even our org’s are saying the new licence for crows is likely to-be the blue print for subsequent licences, and say they are unworkable in there present form.

I personally would not use any of the available licences because there is no way I can FULLY comply with them.

It took me two or three reads of the small print for it to sink in and I realised they were unworkable.

17 minutes ago, yickdaz said:

just had notification of this, is this the actual new general licence then ?

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/wild-birds-licence-to-control-certain-species

That’s been out some time, there is only one new GL licence for crows.

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5 minutes ago, old'un said:

Your optimistic, even our org’s are saying the new licence for crows is likely to-be the blue print for subsequent licences, and say they are unworkable in there present form.

I personally would not use any of the available licences because there is no way I can FULLY comply with them.

It took me two or three reads of the small print for it to sink in and I realised they were unworkable.

That’s been out some time, there is only one new GL licence for crows.

its dated the 30th the crow one was out days ago ?

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1 hour ago, wymberley said:

Do the conservationists want all the shooting to stop?
No, absolutely not, says Avery. The trio accept that landowners sometimes need to kill birds that are causing problems. Rather, the aim is to get everyone to sit down and talk, and agree on a system that is legal, fair and based on science, he says. People shouldn’t be able to kill birds just because they feel like it.

Can you give examples?
Farmers ought to able to shoot wood pigeons if they are causing damage to crops, Avery says. They are the main target already – it’s estimated 1 to 3 million pigeons are killed each year. By contrast, there’s no reason why peo😏ple should be able to kill jays with impunity, Avery says. While they do kill songbirds, they are not to blame for the sharp decline in songbird numbers in the UK over the past 50 years – that’s due to farming practices destroying songbirds’ habitat.

What about crows?
This is the most contentious area. Besides sometimes attacking vulnerable farm animals such as newborn lambs, crows are the second biggest UK predator after foxes of ground-nesting birds. “There’s definitely a case for controlling crows around ground-nesting birds,” says conservationist Mary Colwell, who has written about the plight of the curlew. Organisations such as the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds kill several hundred crows each year for this reason.

Altogether, it is estimated that 100,000 are killed each year, says Avery. “We’re not saying that none ought be killed but we’re saying that killing ought to be legal and well-thought through and regulated,” he says.

Are crows in decline, too?
No, far from it. They have been thriving and the population in the UK has grown to a million. It is suspected that the 50 million game birds released by the UK’s shooting industry each year are helping predators like crows and foxes thrive, as most are not shot and end up as, say, road kill. The high number of predators adds to the pressure on species such as curlews, though the main cause of their decline is intensive farming.

If people will still be able to shoot birds, why is everyone so upset?
It’s partly because the general licences have suddenly been revoked with just two days notice and no plan B. “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,” the agency said in a statement. This was not the aim of Avery, Tingay and Packham – their lawsuit called only for the licences not to be renewed next year.

It seems Natural England decided to act sooner. It could not have happened at a worse time, says Colwell. But she supports the overall aim. “People shouldn’t be able to shoot wildlife just because they feel like it.”

 

What's the chances of Packham and Avery falling out sooner rather than later? Above extracted from the New Scientist.

Just about everything they mention there is what we have all been doing from day one of the original general license.

Only thing they say is "well thought out and  Regulated" and again local landowners who live in the area the land involved is their very livelihood, they live generally on or very near the ground. they will have tried every avenue open to them in the terms of the general license prior to using lethal force.

How well regulated do they want it?

I am sure locals have way more knowledge on birds on their land and what needs doing and why, than the already stretched NE employees who probably live a hundred miles or more away and never even seen the land in their lives.

Obviously a general license as it has been relies on a degree of trust and honesty and as shooters undergo regular police checks that include character references medical checks and criminal records checked amongst others, Surely every shooter is as honest and law abiding as its possible to be, And compared to the average non  shooting NE employee administering the incenses. The shooters of this country have way more credibility, and if they doubt this at NE they need to do what everyone does when unsure "ASK a policeman".

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10 minutes ago, yickdaz said:

its dated the 30th the crow one was out days ago ?

As far as i know that’s basically the one that was out on Friday for crows, I don’t think there are anymore new licences for other birds, unless you have a link?

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17 minutes ago, old'un said:

Your optimistic, even our org’s are saying the new licence for crows is likely to-be the blue print for subsequent licences, and say they are unworkable in there present form.

I personally would not use any of the available licences because there is no way I can FULLY comply with them.

It took me two or three reads of the small print for it to sink in and I realised they were unworkable.

That’s been out some time, there is only one new GL licence for crows.

OH i am not optimistic OLd un , i said "if NE are good to their word". And agree on the licence, lets just hope the others are  the old general licences reissued as BASC NGO requested.

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6 minutes ago, lancer425 said:

OH i am not optimistic OLd un , i said "if NE are good to their word". And agree on the licence, lets just hope the others are  the old general licences reissued as BASC NGO requested.

Where’s the doctor when you need him/her..:)

5 minutes ago, woodpigeonpie said:

I cant see how the police can enforce the new license laws, they haven't enough bobbys  to cover it, there not bothered about home break ins , theft for shops all you get is a crime number and told to claim, so these new laws are probably at the bottom of there list, and as for walking over ploughed fields to check a license!! its a none starter .

Feel free to test the water, and welcome to PW.

Edited by old'un
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11 minutes ago, JohnfromUK said:

I did hear the crow one had received some 'tweaks', tough I don't know what they are.  That may be why it has been redated 30th.

It had a mistake in the cross reference to the guidance for traps and decoys - now corrected to read GL33. I haven't checked if there have been any other changes.

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7 minutes ago, woodpigeonpie said:

Thanks oldun,

I've been out Saturday Sunday and this morning on the peas, didn't get anything though, just started chitting if that's the right word .

I presume you had your licence with you? And done all the things you would have needed to do to satisfy its conditions?

Edited by old'un
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26 minutes ago, woodpigeonpie said:

I cant see how the police can enforce the new license laws, they haven't enough bobbys  to cover it, there not bothered about home break ins , theft for shops all you get is a crime number and told to claim, so these new laws are probably at the bottom of there list, and as for walking over ploughed fields to check a license!! its a none starter .

Carry on I''ll hold your coat, be sure to take a change of underwear maybe?

 

Edited by old man
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7 minutes ago, old'un said:

I presume you had your licence with you? And done all the things you would have needed to do to satisfy its conditions?

Does he need his license( presume you mean New General licence)  with him? i thought we just had to abide by it not physically carry a copy.

I am saying this oldun in the context of interested to know if i have understood it wrong, i just thought it was like the old licensees.

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1 minute ago, lancer425 said:

Does he need his license( presume you mean New General licence)  with him? i thought we just had to abide by it not physically carry a copy.

I am saying this oldun in the context of interested to know if i have understood it wrong, i just thought it was like the old licensees.

I think the advice from NGO is that it would be unwise to proceed at the moment due to legal advice obtained?

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19 minutes ago, HW682 said:

It had a mistake in the cross reference to the guidance for traps and decoys - now corrected to read GL33. I haven't checked if there have been any other changes.

Yep, its much the same as the one released Friday, UNWORKABLE.

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6 minutes ago, lancer425 said:

Does he need his license( presume you mean New General licence)  with him? i thought we just had to abide by it not physically carry a copy.

I am saying this oldun in the context of interested to know if i have understood it wrong, i just thought it was like the old licensees.

No I was being a little pedantic, as far as I am aware, so long as you have applied for a personal licence to shoot pigeons you do not need to carry it on your person.

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1 minute ago, old man said:

I think the advice from NGO is that it would be unwise to proceed at the moment due to legal advice obtained?

Well i agree with NGO and BASC, but it is a license issued by NE its not right but i doubt he  will see a court room using it , and if he needs to protect stock etc from crows and he has used his banger strings. He should be good to go. if there still a crow problem.

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