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Wildfowling and Natura 2000 An overview based on feedback from wildfowlers Dr Conor O’Gorman Conservation Officer, BASC. Background. BASC founded in 1908 as the Wildfowlers Association of Great Britain and Ireland (WAGBI)
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Wildfowling and Natura 2000An overview based on feedback from wildfowlersDr Conor O’GormanConservation Officer, BASC.
Background • BASC founded in 1908 as the Wildfowlers Association of Great Britain and Ireland (WAGBI) • BASC the representative body for shooting in the UK with 123,000 members and 105 employees. • BASC the main source of assistance for wildfowlers in the UK
What is the impact of Natura 2000 on wildfowling? • No known impact in Wales and Northern Ireland to date. • No direct impact until this year in England. • No direct positive influence anywhere to my knowledge. Possibly indirect? • Can we view Natura 2000 as an opportunity for wildfowling?
Hunter Name/id Club name Site name Date of visit Flight time Hours on site Cartridges fired Species taken Bag statistics gathered by wildfowling clubs
Quarry species of duck Anas platyrhynchos Anas penelope Anas crecca Aythya ferina Anas clypeata Anas strepera Aythya marila Bucephala clangula Anas acuta Aythya fuligula
Quarry species of goose Branta canadensis Anser anser Anser albifrons Anser brachyrhynchus
Quarry species of wader Gallinago gallinago Numenius phaeopus Lymnocryptes minimus Pluvialis apricaria Scolopax rusticola
Examples of feedback • We have been managing wildfowling on this estuary for decades – why the sudden management focus on OUR activities • The more information we provide the more it is ‘used against us’. • Why do estuary management plans always focus on wildfowling as THE disturbing activity? • Decisions are not based on science but on prejudice.
Shooting outside SPA does not require consent and shooting activity unknown
The FACE-Natura 2000 project can help to: • Improve knowledge about guidelines concerning Natura 2000 related legislation and hunting • Provide examples of good practice from around Europe to share with agencies and wildfowlers in the UK • Provide a network of trusted colleagues to discuss case studies and learn from our successes and failures