Surfbirds News: RSPB Archives
At Least One in Ten English Cormorants Shot Because of Revised Government Policy
Government figures reveal that at least one in ten of all cormorants wintering in England have been licensed to be shot following a revised policy from nature conservation minister Ben Bradshaw on 16 September, 2004.
The government implemented the revised policy after it caved in to the repeated calls from anglers for a cull of the fish-eating birds.
Great Cormorant by Steve Round from Surfbirds Galleries
The latest figures from Defra reveal that licences for the culling of 1800 cormorants had been issued up to the beginning of February. With a week to go before the cull ends for the summer break, on April 15, the RSPB is concerned that this figure will rise substantially. The policy allows for the killing of up to 3000 cormorants a year in England.
Dr Mark Avery, the RSPB’s director of conservation, said: "RSPB scientists believe the science behind the government’s revised cormorant decision is fundamentally flawed, resulting in a potentially serious underestimate of the impact of the cull on the UK’s breeding cormorant population.
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