Natural England intends to appeal a High Court judgment arising from a judicial review brought by the British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC) concerning gamebird release licensing.
Gamebird release licensing was introduced in 2021 to protect internationally important species and habitats found within Special Protection Areas (SPAs) and Special Areas of Conservation (SACs), collectively known as European Sites. A licence is required only where pheasants or red-legged partridges are released on, or within 500 metres of, one of these designated sites. Fewer than 1% of shoots in England are affected.
In recent years, Natural England has taken additional steps through the licensing regime to protect SPA bird populations from the risks posed by bird flu. The disease has caused unprecedented mortality in wild birds worldwide and poses a potentially catastrophic threat to the rare and internationally important species for which many SPAs are designated.
Since the emergence of bird flu, we have carefully considered the risks posed by the disease to protected species and habitats. Throughout this period, we have sought to minimise impacts on gamebird shoots and businesses while continuing to meet our obligations under the Habitats Regulations and wider conservation legislation.
The legal challenge
In September 2025, BASC brought a judicial review claim against Natural England.
The claim challenged licence conditions that restricted the keeping of gamebirds in release pens within SPAs and their 500m buffer zones before the beginning of the shooting season. Natural England imposed those conditions to reduce the risk of bird flu transmission from gamebirds, particularly pheasants, to protected wild bird populations. Natural England’s approach sought to minimise that risk by delaying releases until after breeding birds were expected largely to have left SPAs.
BASC argued that Natural England had used its licensing powers for a purpose not authorised by the relevant legislation and had incorrectly interpreted what constitutes a “release into the wild” under section 14 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. BASC also challenged Natural England’s guidance that a licence would be required where a release pen falls partly within and partly outside a controlled zone.
Natural England’s position was that the conditions were imposed for the purpose Parliament intended: protecting vulnerable species and ensuring compliance with wildlife conservation law. We argued that there is a direct connection between keeping gamebirds in release pens and the licensed activity of releasing them into the wild, because the former activity is undertaken to facilitate the latter.
The case was heard on 1 and 2 July 2026.
The Court’s decision
The Court found that Natural England acted beyond its powers in imposing conditions that prevented the keeping of pheasants and partridges within pens in SPAs and their 500m buffer zones before the start of the shooting season. However, BASC’s challenge to Natural England’s guidance on release pens that straddle the boundaries of SPAs and their 500m buffer zones was rejected.
Why we are appealing
Natural England respectfully disagrees with the judgment and intends to appeal the decision on a number of points of law.
Protecting England’s internationally important wildlife sites and the species they support remains at the heart of our work, and we will continue to use every appropriate legal mechanism available to fulfil that responsibility.
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