Defra evidence of Woodcock decline in UK?

The request was successful.

Thorne & Hatfield Moors Conservation Forum

Dear Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs,

In response to an epetition via the Parliament website https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions... a response was received (it is also available in full via the link provided) in which Defra state:

"It is unlikely that hunting has had a significant impact on recent population trends for woodcock, snipe and golden plover; trends are likely to be influenced more by the quality and extent of habitat"

The response goes on in para. 4 to offer statistics and assertions made in paras. 5 and para. 6 are subjective as there is no data offered to evidence subjective statements made by Defra.

In para. 7 Defra acknowledge that the Woodcock is Red Listed due to decline and then possibly infers that the Woodland Grant Scheme might some how have addressed this.

Please provide the following information:

1. The name of the expert/professional ornithologist(s) who undertook analysis of published data to arrive at the "unlikely" impact assessment.

2. Please cite the reference sources of the data that was used by (1) above to arrive at the conclusion.

3. Please provide statistical evidence which validates the inference that the Countryside Stewardship and Woodland Grant Schemes have delivered tangible outcomes for Woodcock.

4. What is the value of those schemes directed at addressing Woodcock decline in the UK?

Yours faithfully,

Executive Secretary

pp Thorne & Hatfield Moors Conservation Forum

Helpline, Defra (MCU), Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Thank you for your email. We have a target of replying to emails within 15
working days where a response is required, and 20 working days where a
case is handled under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 or the
Environmental Information Regulations 2004. If you need a reply before
then, please call the Defra Helpline on 03459 33 55 77, or visit
[1]https://www.gov.uk/government/organisati....
We often receive thousands of identical emails each month from organised
campaigns. Ministers and officials are made aware of these campaigns, but
unfortunately we cannot reply to each email when such large volumes are
received.
Best wishes,
Ministerial Contact Unit
 
 

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra)

This email and any attachments is intended for the named recipient only.
If you have received it in error you have no authority to use, disclose,
store or copy any of its contents and you should destroy it and inform the
sender.
Whilst this email and associated attachments will have been checked for
known viruses whilst within Defra systems we can accept no responsibility
once it has left our systems.
Communications on Defra's computer systems may be monitored and/or
recorded to secure the effective operation of the system and for other
lawful purposes.

References

Visible links
1. https://www.gov.uk/government/organisati...

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Dear Sir/Madam,

Thank you for your email of 21 October about the e-petition calling for a
moratorium on the hunting of woodcock, snipe and golden plover. I have
been asked to reply and apologise for the delay in doing so.

As the majority of your requests did not specifically involve recorded
information, your email has not been treated as a freedom of information
request.

To take your specific points in order:

1 & 2
While Natural England data indicates that there have been recent adverse
breeding population trends for woodcock, it is difficult to conclude what
the exact causes are. The hunting of woodcock is on wintering populations
that are greatly augmented by immigrant populations from further east.
Consequently, we cannot assume that declines in the breeding season and
populations in the UK indicate anything about status in the non-breeding
season when hunting occurs.

The decline in the breeding population of snipe is likely due to changes
in habitat extent and quality. It is difficult to conclude from population
data estimates whether golden plover have declined in recent decades.

Natural England woodcock, snipe and golden plover population data
estimates are derived from the latest review of UK and GB population
estimates by the Avian Population Estimates Panel (APEP), which takes
place every six years or so. The estimates quoted above come from last
(3rd) review published in 2013, the full reference being:

Musgrove, A.J., Aebischer, N.J., Eaton, M.A., Hearn, R.D., Newson, S.E.,
Noble, D.G., Parson, M., Risely, K., & Stroud, D A. 2013. Population
estimates of birds in Great Britain and the United Kingdom. British Birds
106: 64–100.

The actual population estimates date from 2003 (woodcock), 2009 (snipe)
and “1980-2000” (golden plover).

A more recent UK population estimate for woodcock of 55,241 males is
derived from a 2013 sample survey. The reference for this estimate is:

Heward, C.J., A.N. Hoodless, G.J. Conway, N.J. Aebischer, S. Gillings &
R.J. Fuller 2015. Current status and recent trend of the Eurasian Woodcock
Scolopax rusticola as a breeding bird in Britain. Bird Study 62: 535-551.

3 & 4
The inference that Countryside Stewardship and English Woodland Grant
Scheme (EWGS) will have benefitted woodcock is based on knowledge of the
species’ ecology and habitat associations: woodcock breed in woodlands,
some of which will be the subject of woodland improvements grants under
EWGS which may encourage habitat features known to be important to
woodcock (e.g. rides and clearings, and areas of scrub/young growth for
cover); also, woodcock undertake nocturnal feeding on areas of
earthworm-rich, unimproved pastures near to woodland, some of which will
be under agri-environment grassland options that seek to maintain and
enhance their biodiversity interest. There is currently no quantitative
data to support the inference.

Yours sincerely,

Kevin Woodhouse
Ministerial Contact Unit
Defra

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra)

This email and any attachments is intended for the named recipient only.
If you have received it in error you have no authority to use, disclose,
store or copy any of its contents and you should destroy it and inform the
sender.
Whilst this email and associated attachments will have been checked for
known viruses whilst within Defra systems we can accept no responsibility
once it has left our systems.
Communications on Defra's computer systems may be monitored and/or
recorded to secure the effective operation of the system and for other
lawful purposes.