Bird flu prompts renewed call to regulate gamebird release | UK News

Stricter rules on releasing millions of gamebirds into the Welsh countryside are needed urgently over fears for native wildlife and the spread of avian flu, campaigners have said.

As the annual shooting season gets under way, RSPB Cymru warned “unsustainable” numbers of pheasants and red-legged partridges would be let loose.

A decision on whether to introduce a controversial new licensing system for gamebird releases has been delayed once already, following a public consultation three years ago.

The Welsh government said it was giving the idea “careful consideration”, while the shooting industry warned tighter controls risked jobs.

It is thought between 800,000 and 2.3 million gamebirds are released into the Welsh countryside each year and ministers first asked for advice on whether more oversight was needed back in 2022.

The following year, environment watchdog Natural Resources Wales (NRW) recommended introducing a “risk-based licensing framework” – essentially prohibiting releases without permission.

Julian Hughes, head of species at RSPB Cymru, said: “We’re now in 2025, the government hasn’t made any decision nor any announcement and we wonder what’s the hold-up, what’s the problem?”

He claimed there was a “growing risk to nature” with each passing year, with large releases of non-native gamebirds making life harder for Wales’ rarer species with more competition for food and an increase in predators.

In recent years, fears over the spread of avian flu strengthened calls for tougher regulation, he added.

Documents, obtained via a Freedom of Information request and shared with news, revealed that 875 wild pheasants were found dead near Llangollen, Denbighshire, in late May.

A sample of 22 were tested and found to have bird flu.

It happened close to important breeding sites for threatened bird species such as curlews and black grouse.

Mr Hughes said it was known that pheasants presented a risk of infecting wild birds, “some of which are threatened at a national level”.

Weeks later, the disease was again confirmed at a commercial gamebird premises near Wrexham, containing more than 20,000 pheasants and partridges.

“Our beef here is not with the shooting industry actually – it’s with the Welsh government for not being clear about a roadmap to proper rules,” said Mr Hughes.

Ministers risked missing a revised deadline of having a licensing system in place by the start of this autumn’s shooting season and a commitment to allow shoots enough time to prepare, he concluded.

The proposals could see gamekeepers apply and pay for a licence from NRW to release birds in and around sensitive sites and NRW would have to be satisfied damage would not be caused to the wider environment before granting permission.

Elsewhere, releases would be allowed under a general licence, setting out the maximum number of birds which could be introduced to a given area.

Helen and Will Jones rear pheasants and run shoots from their farm near Hirnant, Powys, and worry the proposals would mark the start of a clampdown on shooting.

The couple said they ploughed a third of their profits each year back into nature conservation work.

“We’re very passionate about it and the wildlife that’s returned here since we started running the shoot is quite incredible,” Mr Jones added.

“There are hedgehogs everywhere, the wild bird population is great and we’ve gone from no hares at all to over 70 resident on this ground – all done by basic management, all paid for by the shoot.”

The farm has strict biosecurity measures in place to reduce the risk of avian flu, Ms Jones added, as “no-one wants that near their business as it could completely wipe you out”.

Restrictions on shoots could have a big impact in rural parts of Wales, she warned.

“Without the shooting community, the winter would be very bleak here – the local economy benefits from it in so many different ways.”

Welsh Conservative and chairman of the Senedd’s cross party group on shooting and conservation, James Evans, said the proposals were using “a sledgehammer to crack a nut”.

The Brecon and Radnorshire Member of the Senedd added: “Shooting brings in millions to the local economy right across Wales – we should be protecting our rural way of life and not bringing in regulation that would damage that and fundamentally lead to job losses.”

The Welsh government said it was important to consider how to develop “a robust licensing approach”.

It added: “We’re currently reviewing information following the gamebird release consultation, as well as considering the impact of the continuously changing situation with regards to avian flu.”