Update: Consultation on General Licences in Northern Ireland


Back in December, Wild Justice were successful in a legal challenge to Northern Ireland’s general licences for the killing of wild birds.

At the time, the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) conceded our claim that the decision to issue three general licences on 10 September 2021 that permit the killing of birds in the province is unlawful.

DAERA also stated they’d be replacing their flawed general licences with interim licences, and promised that a full public consultation would be launched in due course. We’ve been waiting patiently.

So far in 2022, Wild Justice have pressed DAERA on when it will be consulting on general licences. Last week, we received a reply, saying the consultation will start in late February or early March. This is later than DAERA promised, but as least we have an idea of timelines.

We will be keeping a close eye on this, and will update as things develop…