Defra caves to Chris Packham as they announce review into release of game birds

Defra has caved in to Chris Packham as it announces a review into the release of game birds in protected areas after the Springwatch presenter called for the practice to be banned.

Wild Justice, a campaign group co-founded by Mr Packham, this year crowdfunded over £40,000 to raise a legal challenge against the government's policy on the release of gamebirds.

Activists believe that the release of non-native birds into the countryside could damage biodiversity.

The group argued: "Wild Justice is challenging the unregulated annual release of 50+ million non-native game birds into the countryside.

"At this time of year, 43 million Pheasants and 9 million Red-legged Partridges are released by the shooting industry. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has failed to assess the impacts of this on UK wildlife as they should have done under the provisions of the European Union Habitats Directive."

Now, following the proposed legal challenge, Defra has announced it will be reviewing the practice, but added that there will be no immediate changes for landowners.

The government department did, however, admit that some changes to how birds are released may be necessary after the review.

Defra said:  "Defra accepts in principle Wild Justice’s challenge that the release of non-native game birds on certain protected sites could be a ‘plan or project’ for the purposes of the EU Habitats Directive. However, we do not accept that we have failed to put in place legislation to ensure this is properly assessed or that we are failing to implement the Directive as a result.

“We will shortly outline plans for a review to consider the effectiveness of the existing legislation around this issue and options for improvement.

A review of this nature will take time to conduct and it will only be after a thorough examination that it will become clear if any subsequent change is necessary."

Tim Bonner, the Chief Executive of the Countryside Alliance, said:  "Pheasants and red-legged partridges have been a part of the British countryside for hundreds of years and would have been present on many protected sites when they were designated.

"Research has repeatedly shown the positive conservation benefits of game shooting. We are confident that Defra’s review of the impact of releasing on protected sites will reach a similar conclusion."

The Wild Justice group is currently running a petition asking the government to ban driven grouse shooting, and earlier this year succeeded in temporarily causing the government to revoke general shooting licences.