Our letter to The Telegraph on bird population crash

Dear Sir

The massive population crash in wild birds reported this week is a tragedy but for many of those who work and live in our countryside this news will be of no surprise.

Research by the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust support the report’s findings that changes in agricultural production is having an impact on farmland birds, despite our efforts to reverse the decline through agri-environment schemes. There is now huge urgency to start thinking outside the conservation box and adopt more novel approaches to supporting wild birds in order to fast-track their recovery. Our research over many decades has clearly shown that the principles of game management (provision of habitat, providing supplementary over-winter food and the control of predators) doubled farmland bird numbers over an eight year period on the Trusts own Allerton Project research farm in Leicestershire. 

Professor Chris Stoate
The Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust Allerton Project

2015 GWCT Big Farmland Bird Count

Our second annual Big Farmland Bird Count takes place between 7th and 15th February 2015. The purpose of the count is to highlight the positive conservation work carried out by farmers and gamekeepers across the country. We're asking people to spend 30 minutes recording the species and number of birds seen on one particular area of the farm. Click here for more >