The Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) have announced a consultation on general licences for wild bird control, following similar licensing changes across other parts of the UK. 

As a result, BPCA will be hosting a member summit on 6 August, to gather the views of our members who operate under these licences in Northern Ireland and submit a response on behalf of those members. 

What is the consultation for? 

NIEA recently reviewed their general bird licences (TPG1, TPG2 and TPG3) and are proposing amendments to the new licences for 2021/2022.

They are launching a consultation around the proposed removal of Herring Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Great Black-backed Gull and Rook from all three of the categories of general licence (public health, serious damage to agriculture, and conservation).

They also want your views on the removal of Wood Pigeon and Feral Pigeon from the 'conservation' licence and Wood Pigeon from the 'public health' licence.

The consultation period closes on 12 August, at which time all responses should have been submitted.

Find out more about the survey on the NI Direct website.

General licences in NI

All wild birds in Northern Ireland are protected under the terms of the Wildlife (Northern Ireland) Order 1985. However, the NIEA can currently issue licences to permit control of birds for defined reasons.

Licences can be issued on an individual basis, or alternatively, as ‘general’ licences which permit authorised persons to control listed species for specific reasons without the need to apply for an individual licence on each occasion.

These general licences are:

• General Licence TPG1: Kill or take certain birds, including the taking, damaging or destruction of their eggs, or the disturbance of such a bird or the young of such a bird for the purpose of preserving public health or public safety 
• General Licence TPG2 Kill or take certain birds, including the taking, damaging or destruction of their eggs, or the disturbance of such a bird or the young of such a bird for the purpose of preventing the spread of disease and preventing serious damage to livestock, foodstuffs for livestock, crops, vegetables, fruit, growing timber and fisheries 
• General Licence TPG3: Kill or take certain birds, including the taking, damaging or destruction of their eggs, or the disturbance of such a bird or the young of such a bird for the purpose of conserving wild birds.

BPCA member summit

BPCA will be submitting a response to NIEA on behalf of those members who operate in NI under the general licences. 

We will be asking those attending to provide us with detail on whether you believe that the species mentioned should be removed from the general licences.

You will need to provide evidence or reasons for believing that these species should not be removed from the licences. 

This will allow us to collate responses and make our submission by the consultation deadline on 12 August. 

If you are a BPCA member operating in Northern Ireland using the current general licences, please register for our member summit and make sure your voice is heard. 

Where: Zoom
When: 6 August, 8.30-9.30am

Register now

GOT ANY QUESTIONS?

If you're a BPCA member with questions about the Northern Ireland general licences, get in touch and we'll find the answer for you.

technical@bpca.org.uk

Source: Online