North Wales MS and Wales Species Champion for the Curlew, Mark Isherwood, is disappointed that an Amendment to Stage 3 of the Agriculture (Wales) Bill which would have helped protect Curlew, and other species, was defeated.
In yesterday’s Debate on the Bill, Mr Isherwood spoke in support of Amendment 44, regarding humane cable restraints.
He said:
“Nature is in crisis across Wales, and we must tackle biodiversity loss. The 'State of Nature Report, Wales 2019' found that one in six species in Wales are threatened with extinction. The 'Review of the wider societal, biodiversity and ecosystem benefits of Curlew recovery in Wales' report, commissioned by Natural Resources Wales, states that papers provided a diverse array of evidence showing that Curlew recovery would benefit multiple species - we're talking about 70 species - both directly and indirectly, underpinning our understanding of Curlew as an indicator species. A quid pro quo of that is, if we lose them, it would mean that the population of up to 70 species could be lost or damaged also.
“Curlew is the UK's highest conservation priority bird species, forecast to be extinct as a breeding population in Wales within a decade without intervention. Some of the expert bodies say that that could be reduced to five years without humane cable restraints being one of the tools optionally available under a licence scheme.
“Working with Glyfinir Cymru/Curlew Wales, a broad partnership of organisations committed to preventing the extinction of Curlew in Wales, some of whom support this, and some of whom who don't, I have learned that the predation of nests and chicks by apex predators is a primary cause of breeding failure. I have visited Curlew recovery projects run by conservation charities trialling various interventions, and I have seen that breeding recovery is dependent upon a package of measures to both address habitat quality and influence predation. I've also been shown humane cable restraints and briefed on how they differ from a traditional snare, on their research-led design and on the adoption of good operating practices through training.
“Nest camera data showing nest predation, which I have viewed, is unequivocal. The management of Wales's apex predators is vital to the conservation of ground-nesting species, including the Curlew. The snares of yesteryear are not acceptable, but this serious problem must have a serious solution. The vast majority of people in Wales want action to tackle the nature emergency, but we face a stark choice: extinction of multiple further species, or a range of urgent intervention measures to reverse biodiversity loss.
“Only a highly regulated and licensed use of code-compliant humane cable restraints in species restoration projects will enable that full range of urgent intervention measures to be available. I'd even go as far as to say that to oppose this questions the sincerity of those who say they want to back all measures to tackle the nature emergency.”
Amendment 44 was defeated.