Chris Monk
Well-known member
Press release from the RSPB:
Thursday 16 September, 2004
Government sanctions cormorant cull to appease anglers
More cormorants are to be killed in England after the government
today introduced a shoot-to-kill policy, claiming it is preserving
freshwater fish for anglers.
The RSPB, which has more than one million members, has sought legal
advice on the action it can take to force government to reverse its
decision, and a 'letter before claim' to quash the decision will be issued to
government shortly.
Nature Conservation Minister Ben Bradshaw has said that the annual
limit for killing cormorants will be increased from the current 500 to 3,000
birds - around 20 per cent of the English population - per annum for two
years.
Licences to shoot cormorants are currently only issued to scare
birds from the few fisheries where serious damage has occurred. In each case, the person seeking the licence has to demonstrate serious damage, and that non-lethal measures have failed.
The new policy is positively aimed at actively reducing the cormorant
population. For the first time, fisheries owners will not have to
demonstrate that cormorants are damaging their stocks.
Dr Mark Avery, Director of Conservation at the RSPB, said: "This snap
decision by the minister ignores the advice of his own scientists
and caves in to pressure from anglers. We believe that this shoot to kill
policy is contrary to bird conservation law and we are determined to get the
decision reversed.
"The government's own research shows that cormorants have a
negligible impact on fish populations nationally and that any local problems
can be reduced by non lethal means. Studies commissioned by Defra on fish
shelters on still water fisheries shows these refuges can reduce cormorant
predation by up to 86 per cent.
"The new policy will simply not work; other cormorants will replace
those killed. Making sites unattractive to cormorants or scaring then off
are much more effective means of reducing any impact on fisheries."
ends
For further information and to arrange an interview, please contact:
Grahame Madge, RSPB press officer, on 01767 681577.
Out of hours, please telephone: 07702 196902 (mobile)
Editor's notes:
1. The cormorant population has increased since the 1970s,
though the rate has slowed during the 1990s and 2000s. Of around
3,100 pairs nesting in England, around 1,500 pairs nest inland. The latest
Wetland Bird Survey 2001 shows that around 16,000 cormorants winter
in Great Britain. Numbers of both wintering and breeding birds have
stabilised in recent years. They are naturally birds of salt and freshwaters.
2. Cormorants are included on the Amber list of Birds of
Conservation Concern. This is due to the breeding population being
concentrated on a relatively small number of sites, and the fact
that the UK supports over 20 per cent of the European wintering population. The UK therefore has a clear international responsibility to conserve its
population of cormorants.
3. The cormorant is protected under the European Union Birds
Directive 79/409. Derogations are allowed under strict
circumstances and conditions, where there is no other satisfactory solution, to prevent serious damage to crops, livestock, forests, fisheries and water.
The application of such derogations may not lead to deterioration in the
present conservation status of birds covered by the Directive.
4. In England and Wales, cormorants are protected under the
Wildlife and Countryside Act (WCA) 1981 as amended, which implements
the EU Birds Directive. The WCA makes provision for killing or taking
birds under licence for the purpose of preventing serious damage to fisheries,
where there is no other satisfactory solution.
5. Defra's existing guidance states that a licence may be
granted to allow the shooting of a limited number of cormorants to
reinforce the effects of scaring measures being carried out at a site.
Licences will only be issued where:
- there is clear evidence that serious damage is being caused by
cormorants, or on recent past evidence, that it is likely to occur
- other non-lethal measures have been found to be ineffective or
impracticable
- other factors are not likely to be responsible for the serious
damage
- shooting will be successful in reducing the damage, and
- there is no other satisfactory solution.
6. Between 1996/97 and 2001/02, between 366 and 545 individual
licences were issued per annum by Defra. The most birds shot in any
one year was 225 (in 2001/02), demonstrating that not all licences are
carried out.
7. In the early 1990s, Government spent ý1 million on a
research programme examining techniques for managing cormorant
predation at fisheries. Since 2000, a further £0.5 million has been spent on
research into fish refuges.
These and other government-commissioned research projects have
shown that:
- Cormorants do not cause a general widespread problem to
fisheries.
- The proportion of fish removed from lakes or rivers by
cormorants varies significantly; even sites with high levels of predation do not
usually experience low catches or declining fish stocks. At sites
where there was perceived to be a problem, e.g Holme Pierrepoint, in
Nottinghamshire, studies did not show cormorant predation to be a
problem.
- Providing underwater refuges for fish can reduce cormorant
predation by up to 86%.
- There is no proof that killing is more effective at reducing
the number of cormorants than simply scaring them. Regular human
disturbance was found to be consistently effective in reducing bird numbers.
- Fish stock management (stocking fish of a larger size in
fishing lakes) has been shown to successfully reduce cormorant predation in
Grafham Water and Rutland Water.
8. In the winter of 1996/7, 6,000 cormorants were shot in
Bavaria for the same reason but within a year, numbers had returned
to pre-cull levels.
The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds
* The Lodge * Sandy * Beds SG19 2DL
Press office telephone 01767 681577
Website:www.rspb.org.uk
Registered charity no 207076
Grahame Madge
Media Officer, Conservation PR
RSPB, The Lodge, Sandy, Beds SG19 2DL
Telephone: +44 (0) 1767 681577
Fax: +44 (0) 1767 681284
Mobile and out of hours contact: 07702 196902
Pager: 07654 344078
grahame.madge@r...
www.rspb.org.uk
The RSPB is a UK charity working to secure a healthy environment for
birds and wildlife, helping create a better world for us all.
Thursday 16 September, 2004
Government sanctions cormorant cull to appease anglers
More cormorants are to be killed in England after the government
today introduced a shoot-to-kill policy, claiming it is preserving
freshwater fish for anglers.
The RSPB, which has more than one million members, has sought legal
advice on the action it can take to force government to reverse its
decision, and a 'letter before claim' to quash the decision will be issued to
government shortly.
Nature Conservation Minister Ben Bradshaw has said that the annual
limit for killing cormorants will be increased from the current 500 to 3,000
birds - around 20 per cent of the English population - per annum for two
years.
Licences to shoot cormorants are currently only issued to scare
birds from the few fisheries where serious damage has occurred. In each case, the person seeking the licence has to demonstrate serious damage, and that non-lethal measures have failed.
The new policy is positively aimed at actively reducing the cormorant
population. For the first time, fisheries owners will not have to
demonstrate that cormorants are damaging their stocks.
Dr Mark Avery, Director of Conservation at the RSPB, said: "This snap
decision by the minister ignores the advice of his own scientists
and caves in to pressure from anglers. We believe that this shoot to kill
policy is contrary to bird conservation law and we are determined to get the
decision reversed.
"The government's own research shows that cormorants have a
negligible impact on fish populations nationally and that any local problems
can be reduced by non lethal means. Studies commissioned by Defra on fish
shelters on still water fisheries shows these refuges can reduce cormorant
predation by up to 86 per cent.
"The new policy will simply not work; other cormorants will replace
those killed. Making sites unattractive to cormorants or scaring then off
are much more effective means of reducing any impact on fisheries."
ends
For further information and to arrange an interview, please contact:
Grahame Madge, RSPB press officer, on 01767 681577.
Out of hours, please telephone: 07702 196902 (mobile)
Editor's notes:
1. The cormorant population has increased since the 1970s,
though the rate has slowed during the 1990s and 2000s. Of around
3,100 pairs nesting in England, around 1,500 pairs nest inland. The latest
Wetland Bird Survey 2001 shows that around 16,000 cormorants winter
in Great Britain. Numbers of both wintering and breeding birds have
stabilised in recent years. They are naturally birds of salt and freshwaters.
2. Cormorants are included on the Amber list of Birds of
Conservation Concern. This is due to the breeding population being
concentrated on a relatively small number of sites, and the fact
that the UK supports over 20 per cent of the European wintering population. The UK therefore has a clear international responsibility to conserve its
population of cormorants.
3. The cormorant is protected under the European Union Birds
Directive 79/409. Derogations are allowed under strict
circumstances and conditions, where there is no other satisfactory solution, to prevent serious damage to crops, livestock, forests, fisheries and water.
The application of such derogations may not lead to deterioration in the
present conservation status of birds covered by the Directive.
4. In England and Wales, cormorants are protected under the
Wildlife and Countryside Act (WCA) 1981 as amended, which implements
the EU Birds Directive. The WCA makes provision for killing or taking
birds under licence for the purpose of preventing serious damage to fisheries,
where there is no other satisfactory solution.
5. Defra's existing guidance states that a licence may be
granted to allow the shooting of a limited number of cormorants to
reinforce the effects of scaring measures being carried out at a site.
Licences will only be issued where:
- there is clear evidence that serious damage is being caused by
cormorants, or on recent past evidence, that it is likely to occur
- other non-lethal measures have been found to be ineffective or
impracticable
- other factors are not likely to be responsible for the serious
damage
- shooting will be successful in reducing the damage, and
- there is no other satisfactory solution.
6. Between 1996/97 and 2001/02, between 366 and 545 individual
licences were issued per annum by Defra. The most birds shot in any
one year was 225 (in 2001/02), demonstrating that not all licences are
carried out.
7. In the early 1990s, Government spent ý1 million on a
research programme examining techniques for managing cormorant
predation at fisheries. Since 2000, a further £0.5 million has been spent on
research into fish refuges.
These and other government-commissioned research projects have
shown that:
- Cormorants do not cause a general widespread problem to
fisheries.
- The proportion of fish removed from lakes or rivers by
cormorants varies significantly; even sites with high levels of predation do not
usually experience low catches or declining fish stocks. At sites
where there was perceived to be a problem, e.g Holme Pierrepoint, in
Nottinghamshire, studies did not show cormorant predation to be a
problem.
- Providing underwater refuges for fish can reduce cormorant
predation by up to 86%.
- There is no proof that killing is more effective at reducing
the number of cormorants than simply scaring them. Regular human
disturbance was found to be consistently effective in reducing bird numbers.
- Fish stock management (stocking fish of a larger size in
fishing lakes) has been shown to successfully reduce cormorant predation in
Grafham Water and Rutland Water.
8. In the winter of 1996/7, 6,000 cormorants were shot in
Bavaria for the same reason but within a year, numbers had returned
to pre-cull levels.
The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds
* The Lodge * Sandy * Beds SG19 2DL
Press office telephone 01767 681577
Website:www.rspb.org.uk
Registered charity no 207076
Grahame Madge
Media Officer, Conservation PR
RSPB, The Lodge, Sandy, Beds SG19 2DL
Telephone: +44 (0) 1767 681577
Fax: +44 (0) 1767 681284
Mobile and out of hours contact: 07702 196902
Pager: 07654 344078
grahame.madge@r...
www.rspb.org.uk
The RSPB is a UK charity working to secure a healthy environment for
birds and wildlife, helping create a better world for us all.