Policy paper

Gamebirds: licence to release common pheasants or red-legged partridges on European sites - decision to issue general licence

Published 29 June 2021

This policy paper was withdrawn on

This page has been withdrawn because it’s out of date. You can read the decision to issue the gamebird release general licence for 2022 to 2023.

Applies to England

© Crown copyright 2021

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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/gamebirds-decision-to-issue-the-gamebird-release-general-licence/gamebirds-licence-to-release-common-pheasants-or-red-legged-partridges-on-european-sites-decision-to-issue-general-licence

These documents explain how Defra arrived at its decision to issue the general licence for the release of gamebirds onto European Sites in England.

Background

Any release of common pheasants or red-legged partridges into the wild on European sites in England or within 500 metres of their boundary is only lawful under the authority of a licence.

Defra commissioned Natural England to prepare a shadow Habitats Regulation Assessment (HRA) of the initially proposed new licence to assist Defra, as the competent authority for this project, in accordance with the assessment provisions set out in the Habitats Regulations 2017.

Defra received additional advice from Natural England as the details of the proposed licensing regime were established. Defra considered all this advice when making its final assessment and decision.

Following public consultation of its proposed game bird licensing regime in early 2021, Defra determined the licence conditions and then undertook a Habitats Regulations Assessment (HRA) in April 2021.

Supporting documents

The following documents support the decision to issue a general licence:

  • Habitats Regulation Assessment - this document includes:
    • Annex A - a summary of final licence proposals
    • Annex B - Natural England’s advice to Defra following the key findings of the Rapid Evidence Assessment

Natural England’s shadow HRA (prior to Defra undertaking its own HRA, Defra had asked Natural England to produce a shadow HRA based on Defra’s earlier policy proposals as outlined in Defra’s witness statement).

Defra, as the decision maker, subsequently carried out its own HRA, building on the shadow HRA with modifications:

  • Annex C - Shadow HRA Part 1: Special Protection Areas (SPAs) and Ramsar sites with bird features in England
  • Annex D - Shadow HRA Part 2: Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) and non-bird Ramsar sites in England Subsequently, Natural England provided further advice, including:
  • Annex E - rationale for advice on the buffer zone conditions and the treatment of terrestrial SPAs and SACs below the mean high-water mark (estuarine sites)
  • Annex F - A list of SPAs, SACs and Ramsar sites provisionally assessed and screened out of further assessment by Natural England in their shadow HRA
  • Annex G - Defra then sought statutory advice from Natural England on its HRA, in line with its legal duties

Defra subsequently made a change to the conditions of the licence concerning the release of red-legged partridges.

Defra undertook an additional assessment of the changes to the partridge conditions and again sought Natural England’s advice on its assessment of those changes.

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