Legal Challenge on release of game birds

The legality of releasing circa. 50 million non-native pheasants and partridges into the British countryside each year is to be challenged in the courts by a new crowdfunded campaign led by Wild Justice. The government should be forced to carry out environmental assessments of the impact of the shooting industry’s release of game birds into the wild each year, according to Wild Justice. Lawyers for Wild Justice believe that in failing to carry out such studies, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) is in breach of the EU habitats directive.

To put this in perspective, if programmes were to be put into place for the reintroduction of 'native wildlife' then this is strictly regulated, including public consultation and provisions of environmental impact surveys etc. And yet the game bird industry appears to believe that the release of non-native species, in staggeringly high numbers, should be permitted without any such precautionary checks or research being carried out. Seem reasonable to you?

The absurdity and petulance of the shooting industry's response to Wild Justice's legal challenge reaches a low of understanding and spin even by their own abject and poor standards. A reaction born from an abused privilege and perceived entitlement, a reaction I liken to that of a spoilt child who now is being made to act reasonably and in line with standards expected of everyone else.

The legal action is not an attempt to end the hobby of pheasant or partridge shooting. The release of such large numbers of non-native birds into the wild must be subject to independent review and investigation about the possible damage this may do to native fauna and flora. Something I would have expected for the self-confessed 'responsible' industry to have welcomed, unless of course there is something they know that we should be worried about.

If you would like to support this crowdfunded legal action, then please click here

Some ridiculous and scandalous responses to this action can be read on the link here.