Captive-bred pheasants—Count down to the shooting season

In the world of shooting and the forthcoming hunting season, the hour has arrived for captive-bred pheasants to be released, ready for the grand start on the 1st October. However, in England, new restrictions are in place this year which require licences for the release of game-birds, including Red-legged Partridges, within a 500m radius of “Special Protection Areas” for birds¹‘Defra Update on Gamebird Releasing on or near EU Protected Sites Defra Update’. 2021. Nationalgamekeepers.org.uk <https://www.nationalgamekeepers.org.uk/articles/gamebird-releasing-announcement> [accessed 5 August 2023].

The RSPB urged a halt to releasing the usual tens of millions of game-birds due to the grave risk of avian flu to wild birds²Laville, Sandra. 2023. ‘RSPB Calls for Suspension of Game-Bird Releases over Avian Flu Fears’, The Guardian (The Guardian) <https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/may/18/rspb-calls-for-suspension-of-game-bird-releases-over-avian-flu-fears> [accessed 5 August 2023]. Despite their concerns, Defra merely opted to limit releases in SPAs and near their boundaries for 2023-2024³‘Defra’s 2023 Habitats Regulations Assessment (HRA) and Decision to Issue General Licence GL43: “Gamebirds: Licence to Release Common Pheasants or Red-Legged Partridges on Certain European Sites or within 500m of Their Boundary”’, GOV.UK (GOV.UK) <https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/gamebirds-decision-to-issue-the-gamebird-general-licence-for-2023-to-2025/defras-2023-habitats-regulations-assessment-hra-and-decision-to-issue-general-licence-gl43-gamebirds-licence-to-release-common-pheasants-or-red> [accessed 5 August 2023].

What’s a Special Protection Area? It’s all very confusing, but from what I’ve read, it is a designation that was created under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds, which amazingly has survived in England after Brexit⁴England, Natural. 2022. ‘Special Protection Areas (England)’, Data.gov.uk <https://www.data.gov.uk/dataset/174f4e23-acb6-4305-9365-1e33c8d0e455/special-protection-areas-england> [accessed 5 August 2023]⁵Reeves, Jason. 2021. ‘Brexit Changes to the Habitats Regulations for England and Wales | CIEEM’, CIEEM <https://cieem.net/brexit-changes-to-the-habitats-regulations/> [accessed 5 August 2023].

Whereabouts are SPAs? Basically, the whole of the moorland areas of the North York Moors is an SPA. To find out more: go to Natural England’s MagicMap website, and then use the drop-down menu on the left to select Designations -> Land-based designations -> Statutory  -> Special Protection Areas (England) -> tick the box and then zoom in on the map. The website does seem a little complicated at first, but it’s surprisingly straightforward once you get the hang of it. It offers an enticing rabbit hole worth exploring.

I passed this particular pheasant pen in Arncliffe Wood adjacent to the Cleveland Way and is just under a kilometre from the SPA at Scarth Wood and Hither Moors. Many times I have passed by and the lower portion of the chicken wire fence has generally been lifted to allow the birds to come and go. Today, the fencing was secure, and the birds seemed anxious to get back inside the safety of the pen, if only to escape from my approach. The arrangement in the foreground is a Fox Grid Pop Hole with a guide, designed to allow birds to re-enter the pen if they’ve accidentally escaped but prevents foxes getting through into the pen.

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  ‘Defra Update on Gamebird Releasing on or near EU Protected Sites Defra Update’. 2021. Nationalgamekeepers.org.uk <https://www.nationalgamekeepers.org.uk/articles/gamebird-releasing-announcement> [accessed 5 August 2023]
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  Laville, Sandra. 2023. ‘RSPB Calls for Suspension of Game-Bird Releases over Avian Flu Fears’, The Guardian (The Guardian) <https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/may/18/rspb-calls-for-suspension-of-game-bird-releases-over-avian-flu-fears> [accessed 5 August 2023]
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  ‘Defra’s 2023 Habitats Regulations Assessment (HRA) and Decision to Issue General Licence GL43: “Gamebirds: Licence to Release Common Pheasants or Red-Legged Partridges on Certain European Sites or within 500m of Their Boundary”’, GOV.UK (GOV.UK) <https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/gamebirds-decision-to-issue-the-gamebird-general-licence-for-2023-to-2025/defras-2023-habitats-regulations-assessment-hra-and-decision-to-issue-general-licence-gl43-gamebirds-licence-to-release-common-pheasants-or-red> [accessed 5 August 2023]
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  England, Natural. 2022. ‘Special Protection Areas (England)’, Data.gov.uk <https://www.data.gov.uk/dataset/174f4e23-acb6-4305-9365-1e33c8d0e455/special-protection-areas-england> [accessed 5 August 2023]
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  Reeves, Jason. 2021. ‘Brexit Changes to the Habitats Regulations for England and Wales | CIEEM’, CIEEM <https://cieem.net/brexit-changes-to-the-habitats-regulations/> [accessed 5 August 2023]