From Yasmine Hamid

I attended my first rally since my student days on 4 November to take part in the "I Count" rally organised by the Stop Climate Chaos coalition. Our destination, Trafalgar Square, was packed with 25,000 people. I was invited to attend a pre-rally gathering by the RSPB. Over 1000 RSPB members met at the Emmanuel Centre where we listened to a number of people including Graham Wynne from the RSPB, Sir John Lawton who is Chair of the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution, and MPs from the three main political parties. The conservative MP Peter Ainsworth summed the political situation up well by admitting that politicians are the biggest block to climate change action, and have been reluctant to act in the past. The highlight was a speech by RSPB Phoenix member Ruth Johnson, who proved that the younger generation care very strongly about our planet's future. The "I Count" rally was the largest Climate Change rally to date, so lets hope that politicians will start acting now!

The weather was glorious and Trafalgar Square was completely packed. Most importantly, this was not a 'green' rally: while lots of environmental organisations were there, other groups included the WI and religious groups, and the event was supported by celebrities from music and television.

Everyone can do their bit to reduce the impact of climate change, by becoming more energy efficient, using green electricity, and lobbying their MPs. You can show your support for the campaign by visiting the RSPB I Count page: http://www.rspb.org.uk/climate/facts/about.asp

Coverage of the rally from the main RSPB website: http://www.rspb.org.uk/policy/climatechange/climaterally.asp

Yasmine Hamid

Wednesday 1 November 2006 10:33
Department for Environment, Food And Rural Affairs (National)

Public consultation launched to review the list of registrable birds on schedule 4 of the wildlife and countryside act (1981)

Information Bulletin

Proposals to change the list of bird species that need to be registered with Defra were launched today by public consultation.

Section 7 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 requires that certain species of birds (those listed on Schedule 4) are registered with the Government if they are kept in captivity. Registration enables the monitoring of captive bird populations and their keepers, as well as supporting the conservation of our native wild birds as required under the Birds Directive (79/409/EEC). As part of their regular review of the legislative requirements of the 1981 Act, Defra commissioned the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) to produce a report recommending which species should be listed in the future.

The report makes a number of recommendations relating to additions to and removals from the Schedule, as well as suggesting a number of options aimed at reducing the regulatory burden on bird keepers.

Defra is seeking views on these recommendations from those with a specific interest in the proposals as well as from members of the general public. The consultation period begins today (1st November) and closes on 16 February 2007.

The main options under consideration include:
* Revise the Schedule as outlined in the JNCC's report
* Revise the Schedule as outlined in the JNCC's report plus remove the requirement to register captive bred birds
* Revise the Schedule as outlined in the JNCC's report plus remove the requirement to register hybrids and any species not naturally occurring in the wild within the European territory of the EU
* Revise the Schedule as outlined in the JNCC's report plus remove the requirement to register birds already covered by CITES documentation
* Remove all species from Schedule 4

Potential changes to the current list of registrable species include:

* The removal of the Gyr Falcon
* The addition of a number of parrot species
* The retention of the Peregrine Falcon
* The addition of the Ruddy Duck

To view the consultation document please visit: http://www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/consult/current.htm

Notes to Editors

1. Section 7 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 requires that all birds listed on Schedule 4 which are held in captivity are formally registered with Defra. The registration system can be used by the enforcement authorities to check the legality of birds in captivity. This provides wild birds with an extra tier of protection as it acts as a deterrent against illegal taking.

2. Schedule 4 currently contains 59 species, of which 38 are birds of prey. There are currently around 8,500 registered birds and 2,000 keepers.

3. The inclusion of some parrot species on Schedule 4 would be a major change. Certain parrot species have been included for consideration as they are becoming increasingly rare in the wild, are not widely bred in captivity, and are known to be subject to illegal taking. They may therefore benefit from the additional legal protection that a possession control provides.

4. All birds occurring in the wild are fully protected under section 1 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. Some species are recommended for removal from Schedule 4 as they are widely bred in captivity, and there is little evidence that they are being taken from the wild (for example, the Gyr falcon). Others (for example the Cetti's warbler) are recommended for removal because their wild populations have reached a level where they do not require the additional protection that the registration system provides.

5. Many of the birds listed on Schedule 4 to the 1981 Act are also protected by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). CITES controls the import, export and commercial use of certain endangered species. Defra acts as UK Management Authority for CITES. At present keepers of listed birds often have to complete several pieces of paperwork for Defra: i) to register the bird under Schedule 4, ii) to comply with CITES controls. One of the proposals under consideration, namely that birds will not need to be registered if they have already been issued with CITES documentation, will reduce this administrative burden.

6. The wild population of the peregrine falcon has recovered substantially and is expanding in range. However, the species is being recommended for retention on Schedule 4 because there is evidence that it remains subject to illegal killing, nest robbery and destruction.

7. In order to protect the wild population of the white-headed duck, Defra took the decision to eradicate the wild population of the non-native ruddy duck from the UK. The ruddy duck is being proposed as a potential addition to the Schedule, as a measure to enable the close monitoring of specimens held in captivity, and to identify the source of any escapes.

8. Schedule 4 was last reviewed in 1994 when a number of species, including the buzzard, sparrow hawk and kestrel were removed from the list.

Public enquiries 08459 335577;
Press notices are available on our website http://www.defra.gov.uk
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I have just downloaded the new Windows Live Writer software which allows you to create blog entries through a program on your desktop.

Not a bad program, and this posting is to see how it copes with inserting Windows Live Local maps.

If this post comes out OK it could prove to be very useful.

The RSPB Wat Tyler Barn