As part of its review of a Welsh Assembly Government consultation on general licences, BASC has decided there is no justification to add Canada geese to the pest birds list in Wales or to introduce a police administered identification tagging system for cage traps such as Larsen traps.
In September, a wide ranging consultation was launched on a review of the law on shooting and trapping pest birds in Wales. The consultation closes on 24 November and also includes proposals to remove gulls from almost all the current general licences.
BASC has rejected the Canada goose proposal because Bird Atlas Maps and Wetland Bird Survey results show that their population in Wales is limited in number and distribution compared to England. There have been relatively few licence applications to address problems in Wales and they are a valued quarry species of goose on Welsh estuaries.
BASC is also unaware of any enforcement issues pertaining to cage traps that would make it necessary for them to be uniquely marked. This move would introduce a huge and unnecessary administrative burden on the thousands of Welsh cage trap operators and the two wildlife crime officers for Wales that would have to process such a system.
BASC’s policy development manager, Conor O’Gorman, said: “A briefing is available on our website to help Welsh shooters get their views across on this consultation. It’s worth noting that no changes can take place until at least 1 July 2010, to allow sufficient time for communication of such changes, a precedent that BASC lobbied for, and welcomes.”
The background briefing on the consultation can be viewed by clicking here.
ENDS