Have your say on cormorant control

Anglers and fishery owners are being urged to have their say on the control of fish-eating birds.

The in-depth survey has been launched by the government’s Department for the Environment, Farming and Rural Affairs (Defra), which wants to review the country’s current General Licence for bird control. 

Over the next three months, the Government is expected to be asked to remove some birds currently covered by the licence – but The Angling Trust claims new birds need to be added to the list, including cormorants.

Stuart Singleton-White, Head of Campaigns at the Angling Trust, said: “Many birds that pose the greatest threat to our fish and fisheries are not covered by the General Licence. While non-lethal methods of control are always the preferred option, they are not always possible.

“This consultation and the broader review of the General Licence is an opportunity to place birds such as cormorants on to the General Licence.

“It’s illogical that birds which pose a severe threat to fish populations are afforded high levels of protection, while fish are not. In a perfect world, the predator-prey relationship would find a natural balance. Unfortunately, with the massive rise in cormorant numbers, and with all the pressures our rivers and freshwater venues face, this is not the case.”

The option to review the current General Licence is music to the ears of many anglers, who believe that a clampdown on cormorant numbers will hugely benefit silverfish stocks.

Angling Times columnist Dave Harrell said: “I applaud this move. Cormorants and goosanders have been a major problem. Although you can apply for a licence to shoot a small number of these birds it isn’t enough to make a difference.

“At some venues, I’ve spotted at least 40-50 cormorants, so I sympathise with those people whose livelihood is running a fishery – they simply don’t have the law on their side. It’s got to the point where nature can’t step in and level things out, and yet these birds are just left to thrive.”

To take part in the consultation type bit.ly/WildBirdSurvey into your web browser and follow the steps outlined there.

Get Involved

Your views and evidence are needed to help decide how General Licences should be used in the future to:

1- Kill or take wild birds to: conserve wild birds and to conserve flora (plants) and fauna (other animals)

2- Kill or take wild birds to: preserve public health or public safety

3- Kill or take wild birds to: prevent serious damage to livestock, foodstuffs for livestock, crops, vegetables, fruit, growing timber, fisheries or inland waters.

The consultation will close on Thursday, December 5, 2019.