Limit the shooting season of Woodcock
This petition gathered 107,918 signatures between 11 July 2022 and 25 January 2023, according to the Parliament petitions site. The Government responded on 11 October 2022. MPs debated it in Westminster Hall on 27 February 2023.
The petition
The petition's creator is not named in the Petitions site's published record. Quoted in full from the UK Parliament petitions site.
Limit the shooting season of Woodcock
Mark Avery , Chris Packham and Ruth Tingay (Wild Justice) want the opening of the Woodcock shooting season to be pushed back to 1 December. 160,000 Woodcock are shot for fun across the UK whilst their population is declining. The Defra Secretary of State has powers to vary the shooting season.
Wild Justice wrote to Defra and the Northern Ireland authorities in March asking that the Woodcock open season should start on 1 December instead of 1 October (England, Wales & Northern Ireland, or 1 September, Scotland) see letter https://wildjustice.org.uk/woodcock/we-ask-for-changes-to-the-woodcock-shooting-season/ . No substantive response has been received. This simple conservation measure is supported by science, and some shooters, and requires no new legislation for implementation.
The Government's response
The Government published its response on 11 October 2022; the petitions site lists the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs as responsible. Its summary:
Defra intends to review the list of species, including woodcock, on Schedule 2 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 including the benefits of altering the close season.
The opening 396 words of the 571-word response:
All wild birds are protected in accordance with the provisions set out in the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. Some species of birds, including the woodcock, are listed on Schedule 2 of the Act and may be hunted during the open season. In England and Wales, the open season for woodcock is from 1 October to 31 January. Outside of this period, the close season helps to make sure that woodcocks are able to breed successfully and move between breeding and wintering grounds.
The first breeding woodcock survey was undertaken in 2003 and estimated a breeding population of 78,000 pairs in Britain. A further survey in 2013 estimated 55,000 pairs, representing a decline of 29%. As a result, the woodcock has been on the Red List of Birds of Conservation Concern in the UK since 2015. During winter, our resident birds are joined by migrants from breeding populations in Northern Europe and Western Russia, increasing the Great Britain non-breeding population to 1.4 million individuals.
The reasons for the decline of the breeding population of woodcock in Great Britain are not fully understood but are likely to include: disturbance; habitat loss as a result of land drainage; the drying out of natural woodlands; changes in surrounding woodland management; the maturation of new plantations; and overgrazing by deer. Further work is needed to fully understand the causes of its decline.
Defra is committed to reviewing the protection we afford to wild birds listed on Schedule 2 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, in particular establishing the evidence underpinning the listing of species such as the woodcock, so we can ensure that recreational shooting is sustainable and does not undermine species recovery. This might include amending the close season for native species such as the woodcock.
Whilst the Department undertakes this review, the woodcock will continue to be supported by a number of measures already in train. We are committed to species recovery in England, and that is why, within the Environment Act 2021, we have set a new legally binding target to halt the decline in species abundance by 2030. Furthermore, Defra published a Nature Recovery Green Paper consultation on proposals to support our ambitions to restore nature and halt the decline in species abundance by 2030. We are considering the responses to the now closed consultation and the Government will publish its response in due course.
Read the full response on the petitions site.
Where the signatures came from
Signatures came from 650 constituencies on the boundaries used until the 2024 general election. The largest number, 694, came from West Dorset.
107,022 of the signatures were from the UK and 896 from elsewhere, by the location signers gave.
| Constituency | Signatures |
|---|---|
| West Dorset | 694 |
| North Norfolk | 602 |
| Suffolk Coastal | 566 |
| Torridge and West Devon | 564 |
| Central Devon | 554 |
| South Norfolk | 526 |
| Derbyshire Dales | 499 |
| North Dorset | 470 |
| South Dorset | 466 |
| Mid Norfolk | 461 |
| Region | Signatures |
|---|---|
| South East | 17,941 |
| South West | 16,282 |
| East of England | 13,393 |
| North West | 9,790 |
| East Midlands | 8,476 |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | 8,367 |
| West Midlands | 7,613 |
| Scotland | 7,523 |
| London | 6,614 |
| Wales | 6,054 |
| North East | 3,522 |
| Northern Ireland | 841 |
Debate in Parliament
MPs debated the petition in Westminster Hall on 27 February 2023. Read the debate in Hansard. House of Commons Library debate pack.
Source and receipt
- https://petition.parliament.uk/archived/petitions/619615.jsonUK Parliament Petitions API · read 2026-10-15 · SHA-256
93ff1176a4ac7ef2… - The petition on petition.parliament.uk
The petition's words are its creator's and the response is the Government's; this site quotes both and gives no view on either. Signature counts can still change while a petition is open. To report an error, send a correction request.