The British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC) has welcomed the decision of the High Court to quash a decision by Natural England to refuse to issue a licence to control buzzards causing severe damage by killing young pheasants on a shoot.
Chairman of BASC, Alan Jarrett said:
“BASC welcomes this judgment and I pay credit to the National Gamekeepers’ Organisation for having supported the case. The issuing of licences to manage wildlife is a matter of due process and this was not followed by Natural England when it came to applications for licences relating to raptors. The judge found that Natural England was operating an “undisclosed policy” which went beyond their powers in law.”
“Those who manage the countryside, and shooting has a management influence on two-thirds of the rural land area, must have confidence that the law on licensing will be fairly applied by Natural England. We hope that decisions on licences in the future will be evidence based and comply with the law.”
ENDS