PROVISION OF BAG STATISTICS
FOR HUNTABLE BIRDS
Defra Project CRO281
D. Parrott & N. Moore
Central Science Laboratory
S. Browne & N. Aebischer
The Game Conservancy Trust
1
PROVISION OF BAG STATISTICS FOR HUNTABLE BIRDS
Defra Project CRO281
D. Parrott & N. Moore
Central Science Laboratory
S. Browne & N. Aebischer
The Game Conservancy Trust
24th November 2003
1
Contents PAGE
1. Executive Summary
1.1 Introduction
1.2 Review of existing uk and overseas schemes
1.3 Potential novel schemes
1.4 Recommendations
2. Background
3. Legislation Controlling Hunting in the UK
3.1 Waterfowl
3.2 Game birds
3.3 Species that can be killed or taken under general licence
3.4 Licensing
3.5 Avian hunting community
4. Identification and Review of Existing UK Schemes.
4.1 Introduction
4.2 Government schemes collecting bag statistics
4.3 Voluntary schemes collecting bag statistics
4.3.1 National gamebag census
4.3.2 Partridge count scheme
4.3.3 Scottish goose survey
4.3.4 Duck wing survey
4.3.5 Woodcock wing survey
4.3.6 National shooting survey
4.3.7 Woodpigeon enquiry
4.3.8 Avian pest species survey
4.4 Overview of uk schemes
5. Identification and Review of Schemes in Europe, North America and Canada
5.1 Introduction
5.2 Denmark
5.3 France
5.4 Finland
5.5 Germany
5.6 Norway
5.7 Poland
5.8 Portugal
5.9 Republic of Ireland
5.10 Spain
5.11 United States of America
5.12 Canada
5.13 Overview of overseas schemes
6. Potential Novel Methods for Collection of UK Bag Statistics.
6.1 Introduction
6.2 Shotgun licences
6.3 Game licences
6.4 Game dealers licence
6.5 The Game Conservancy Trust
6.6 National Gamekeepers’ Organisation/Moorland Gamekeepers' Association/Scottish Gamekeepers' Association
6.7 Wildfowling clubs
6.8 British Association for Shooting and Conservation
6.9 Discussion
7. Recommendations
7.1 Establishment of hunter and shooting estate registers
7.2 Shotgun licensee questionnaire survey and GCT estate database
7.3 Utilisation and calibration of existing BASC and GCT surveys
7.4 Overview of recommendations
8. References
Appendix 1: People and organisations consulted in the UK
Appendix 2: Overseas organisations contacted.
Appendix 3: Enquiry to overseas organisations on bag statistics schemes.
Appendix 4: Shotgun certificates – England and Wales
Appendix 5: Shotgun certificates - Scotland
Appendix 6: Letter to Association of Chief Police Officers.
Appendix 7: Reply from Association of Chief Police Officers.
Appendix 8: Reply from Association of Chief Police Officers Scotland.
Appendix 9: Reply from Police Service of Northern Ireland.
Appendix 10: Letter to Local Authorities
1
1. Executive Summary
1.1 Introduction
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has commissioned a research project investigating the provision of bag statistics for huntable birds in the United Kingdom (UK). This research is part of a European Union (EU) requirement to estimate the numbers of huntable birds harvested in each member state.
The UK’s list of huntable bird species can be divided into two categories – game birds and waterfowl.
The UK’s avian hunters engage in three different types of shooting discipline: driven shoots, rough shoots and wildfowling. Driven shoots principally pursue game birds, but some wildfowl (almost exclusively reared mallard) will also be shot. Rough shoots may include all huntable species but game birds and reared mallard predominate. Migratory wildfowl are mainly shot in estuaries and coastal marshes by ‘true’ wildfowlers. Inland wildfowling is dominated by mallard.
There is a paucity of basic information on the overall UK hunting community and its shooting activities. Detailed data is lacking on, for example, the number of hunters engaged in each shooting discipline, the frequency of hunting, location or habitat of hunting trips, quarry species pursued and hunting success.
1.2 Review of existing UK and overseas schemes
A review was conducted of existing UK schemes for the collection of hunting bags. A number of voluntary schemes, run by non-governmental organisations (The Game Conservancy Trust – GCT and the British Association for Shooting and Conservation – BASC), were identified. Although a large range of species have been covered, all schemes are voluntary and relatively small-scale. This is likely to result in biases in the geographical range, number of species and number of individuals covered. No compulsory governmental schemes currently exist.
A review of existing schemes in Europe, North America and Canada was also conducted. Schemes ranged from compulsory registration of hunters alongside compulsory return of bag data, to non-registration of hunters with voluntary submission of bags. The principal feature of apparently successful overseas schemes, separating them from UK schemes, is the compulsory registration of hunters who wish to shoot wild birds. National schemes to collect annual hunt statistics operate by requesting bag returns from hunters on the register.
1.3 Potential novel schemes
Two novel methods for collecting bag statistics on UK huntable birds were investigated - the shotgun licensing system and the game licensing system. A number of further sources of data were also considered – the GCT, Gamekeeper Organisations, Wildfowl Clubs/Associations, and the BASC.
All UK residents acquiring or in possession of a shotgun must have a shotgun certificate issued by the Regional Police Force. In Great Britain (GB), 631,805 certificates were on issue on 31st December 2001. Around 84,000 ‘firearms’ certificates are currently on issue in Northern Ireland. In addition, visitors’ permits are also issued. In GB, 10,038 (1.6% the number of shotgun certificates) visitor permits were on issue on 31st December 2001. It is estimated that around 542,000 hunters shoot game (birds and mammals) in the UK. A questionnaire survey of shotgun licensees would cover the entire pool of UK hunters. A request was made to the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) and the Association of Chief Police Officers Scotland (ACPOS) as to whether the Police would, in principle, assist with any future surveys by forwarding questionnaires to a sample of shotgun licensees. The committee decided not to recommend Regional Forces to assist in any proposed survey at this current time.
The game licensing system comprises game licences and game dealer licences. All persons who wish to kill game must possess a game licence, whilst anyone wishing to trade in game must possess a game dealer’s licence. In 2001-02, 48,385 game licences were issued in the UK. A bag statistics scheme based on game licences, however, was considered to be ineffective as, although required by law, many hunters do not possess a licence. Game licences are also only required for persons wishing to kill, take or trade those species listed in the Game Acts. A scheme based on game dealer licences was considered to be ineffective, as not all waterfowl species can legally be traded, birds listed on Schedule 2 Part 1 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 can be legally killed or taken during the open season without the requirement for a game licence, and not all shot birds are handled by game dealers.
The Game Conservancy Trust (GCT) was considered to be a potentially better source for bag statistics of gamebirds and inland wildfowl, via the database of estates already set up for its National Gamebag Census (NGC). Targeting estates is the best way of assessing bags on driven shoots, as the contribution of individual shooters to the overall bag on a drive is not possible to measure. It also covers rough shooting on private ground. It is not currently possible to extrapolate up from NGC returns to national bags because the total area of the UK which is shot over is not known. Also, there is potential bias in extrapolating bags from NGC estates to non-NGC estates. The GCT is, however, currently developing a database that seeks to encompass all UK shooting estates. This offers considerable scope for expanding the NGC, and a future opportunity to collect bag data from all or a random sample of UK shooting estates.
- Members of gamekeepers’ organisations are also a potential source for obtaining bag statistics of game birds. There are approximately 5,000-6,000 gamekeepers in the UK. However, there would be considerable overlap between a keeper survey and the GCT’s NGC survey, leading to unnecessary duplication of effort.
Wildfowling associations and clubs could provide data on waterfowl bags. There are around 150 wildfowling clubs with approximately 8,000-9,000 active members. Much coastal wildfowling is conducted by these ‘true’ wildfowlers, so a survey of these clubs should provide reasonable estimates of coastal wildfowl bags. However, they will not take into account coastal bags by private syndicates, nor will they measure the inland component of wildfowling.
The membership of SC (c.20% of all shotgun licensees) engage in all three shooting disciplines and all huntable species are represented in the membership’s bag returns. However, there is potential bias in extrapolating data from BASC members to non-BASC members in order to derive estimates for national bags.
1.4 Recommendations
Currently, no single potential source of hunting bag data encompasses all three shooting disciplines and all huntable species. However, a dual component scheme which combined an individual-based survey and an estate-based survey would provide full coverage. An individual-based survey would target hunters involved in coastal wildfowling and rough shooting on public land. An estate-based survey would target driven shoots and rough shooting (including wildfowl) on private land. Three alternative potential schemes are proposed for consideration.
- Scheme 1: Establish registers of all hunters and shooting estates. Registers could then be used to collect bag statistics from all or a random sample of hunters and estates. One approach would be to supplement regular random sample questionnaire surveys with more infrequent full register surveys. Voluntary registration would inevitably involve potential bias in survey data due to a self-selecting sample pool. Therefore, to ensure full participation in the scheme, a hunter licensing system could be introduced, whereby hunting was conditional on obtaining a hunting permit. There is a precedent for a field sports licensing system in the fishing licence. An additional application of hunting registers is that they could provide a range of data on the UK hunting community, such as the numbers of hunters engaged in each shooting discipline and quarry species pursued. One potential benefit of such information would be the ability to effectively target single species surveys in response to any future conservation concerns.
- Scheme 2: A dual questionnaire survey scheme which utilises the shotgun licensing system to survey individual hunters, and the GCT’s UK shooting estate database (in preparation) to survey estates. On completion, the GCT’s database would provide a resource enabling full or random sampling of all UK shooting estates. A questionnaire survey of UK shotgun licensees would need to be large enough to ensure a sufficient ‘hit-rate’ of the hunters pursuing the species shot in lowest numbers (Gadwall - shot by an estimated c.1.5% of BASC members). For GB, an initial large-scale pilot survey would involve circulating around 26,000 questionnaires (assuming c.65% return rate). The results from this initial survey would be used to refine the methodology (including sample size).
- Scheme 3: A dual questionnaire survey scheme which utilises existing BASC and GCT surveys. The membership of BASC could be used to target individual hunters, whilst the GCT’s NGC could be used to target shooting estates. The list of estates included in the NGC could be expanded as the GCT’s database of UK shooting estates is developed and completed. The BASC and GCT bag data, however, would need to be calibrated (initially and periodically thereafter) to ascertain how representative returns were in comparison to non-BASC members and non-GCT estates respectively. A comparison between BASC and non-BASC members’ shooting activities could be investigated via a survey of shotgun licence holders. A comparison of GCT and non-GCT estates could be investigated via a survey of landowners using Defra’s Agricultural Land-Holdings Register.
2. Background
A large number of bird species are currently legally hunted in the UK. These include gamebirds, waterfowl, some wader species and some songbirds taken by falconers under licence. The European Union is currently examining ways of accurately producing statistics to estimate the number of huntable birds harvested in each member state. Relevant species are listed on Annex II/1 and II/2 of the Birds Directive (79/409/EEC). Currently, in the UK several voluntary schemes operate whereby bag statistics of individuals shot are collated for certain huntable bird species. These are valuable long-term datasets, in some cases going back over 200 years, providing indications of numbers of each species shot per unit area or collating returns from specialist shooting groups such as wildfowlers. Attempting to extrapolate from these data to estimate a national figure for off-take of individual species is not straightforward owing to bias in the geographical coverage, size of estates contributing to the census and non-random selection of participants.
The aims of this contract are to review and evaluate existing UK bag statistics schemes; to compare these schemes with those of Europe and North America; and to investigate the feasibility of novel methods for collecting bag statistics for the purpose of determining overall UK hunting bag returns. The specific objectives of the project are:
Objective 1: to identify and review existing voluntary schemes and methods for the collection of hunting bag returns for huntable bird species in the UK. Existing schemes within Europe and North America will also be reviewed.
Objective 2: to assess the effectiveness of the above arrangements, including the identification of areas of best practice and inadequacies, where present. This should include an assessment of the level of participation in these voluntary schemes and whether the results are considered to be valid or representative.
Objective 3: also having regard to best practice in other EU Member States, to recommend measures by which the UK government can obtain a reliable measure of hunting bag returns for each species of huntable bird in the UK. These measures should be practical and cost-effective.
3. Legislation Controlling Hunting in the UK
The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 is the principal mechanism for the legislative protection of wildlife in the UK and implements the European Union Directives on the Conservation of Wild Birds (79/409/EEC), and the Natural Habitats and Wild Fauna and Flora (92/43/FFC) and also the Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats (the ‘Bern Convention’). Wild birds which can be hunted in the UK (mainly waterfowl) are listed under Schedule 2 Part I of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. Game birds are covered by the Game Acts. General licences are also issued which allow the killing or taking of certain birds; generally those previously listed on Schedule 2 Part II of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.
3.1 Waterfowl
Bird species listed in Schedule 2 Part I of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 are protected during the close season (1st February to 31st August above high water mark of ordinary spring tides except where indicated with a *) but may be killed or taken outside this period.
- Capercaille* (close season 1st Feb. to 30th Sept.)- Mallard
- Coot- Moorhen
- Duck, tufted- Pintail
- Gadwall- Pochard
- Goldeneye- Shoveler
- Goose, Canada- Snipe* (close season 1st Feb. to 11th Aug.)
- Goose, Greylag- Teal
- Pink-footed Goose - Wigeon
- Goose, White-fronted (England & Wales only)- Woodcock
- Golden Plover
3.2 Game Birds
The current legislation dealing with game dates back to the nineteenth century (e.g. Parkes & Thornley 1987). The Game Act 1831, which applies in England and Wales only, defines ‘game’ birds as pheasants, partridges, grouse, heath or moor game, black game and great bustard. Woodcock and snipe are included in the provisions of the Act but not classed as game. In Scotland, the Game (Scotland) Act 1832 does not define game, but in practice the definition under the Night Poaching Act 1828 is used: pheasants, partridge, grouse, heath or moor game, black game and bustards. It was also held to include capercaillie (removed as quarry species in 2002 for Scotland only) and ptarmigan. Wildfowl are not covered by the Game Acts.
Species covered by the Game Acts (which fully protect them during the close season), therefore, are:
- Capercaillie*- Pheasant
- Black Grouse**- Ptarmigan
- Red Grouse- Snipe***
- Grey Partridge- Woodcock***
- Red-legged Partridge
* protected since 2002 in Scotland
** there is currently a voluntary shooting ban on black grouse.
*** snipe and woodcock, although not classed as game, are included in provisions of Game Act but are protected by the Wildlife and Countrsyide Act 1981.
3.3 Species that can be killed or taken under General Licence
Under section 16 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, licences can be issued to kill or take certain birds for certain specific reasons. Licences can be issued on an individual or general basis. General Licences which apply to the 13 specific species, previously listed under Schedule 2 Part II of the Act, permit the killing or taking of these birds for the purposes of: ‘preventing serious damage to livestock, crops, vegetables, fruit, growing timber, fisheries or inland waters’ or for ‘protecting any collection of wild birds’ or for ‘preserving public health or public air safety’. Ruddy duck (*) has recently been added to this list but for England only.
- Carrion crow- Magpie
- Collared dove- Feral pigeon
- Great black-backed gull- Rook
- Lesser black-backed gull- Ruddy duck*
- Herring gull- House sparrow
- Jackdaw- Starling
- Jay- Woodpigeon
3.4 Licensing
All holders of shotguns and rifles must possess appropriate shotgun and firearms licences. Only certain types of firearm are permitted for hunting. Controls exist to limit the use of lead shot for certain species (e.g. ducks and geese) and habitats (e.g. listed wetlands). A game licence is also required to hunt game species. The sale of game is restricted and requires a Game Dealer licence. The hunting of game is confined to limited hunting seasons and in certain regions hunting is prohibited on certain days within the open season. Certain birds of prey, those listed on Schedule 4, are required to be registered with the Department. However, this may not cover those birds of prey that are most commonly kept in captivity, and cannot be used as a suitable basis for assessing the kill or take of other birds.
Birds of Prey are used to kill and take game birds during the open season. For this activity the relevant Game licence must be applied for. However, we do not know the figures or persons undertaking this activity or the number of birds killed or taken.