Natural England has issued 3 licences to falconers to allow
them to take 6 peregrine falcon chicks from the wild for use
in falconry. Each falconer intends to take one male and one
female chick to form a breeding programme with the other
licensees.
Natural England has carried out a rigorous assessment of
these licences and made sure they’ll have no impact on the
peregrine falcon population. The peregrine falcon population
is doing well in England and has a conservation status of
‘green’.
For added security, the licence holders can only take chicks
that would not normally survive in the wild.
The licences are valid for 2 years.
The licensees need to meet strict conditions before, and
after, they take any birds. These conditions will:
- protect the welfare of any chicks taken
- maintain the conservation status of the peregrine falcon
population
Peregrine falcons are protected under Schedule 1 of the
Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (as amended). It’s illegal
to disturb or take them without a licence. Falconry and
aviculture are reasons under which Natural England can grant
a licence to carry out these activities lawfully.
Natural England has published the following documents related
to this decision:
-
the 3 licences issued by Natural England
-
the Habitats Regulations Assessment of the licence
application
-
the licence determination record
Natural England has removed all personal information from
these documents in accordance with the General Data
Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018.
Natural England has written a blog which gives more details on the
reasons for issuing these licences.
