Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the statutory guidance entitled GL43: licence to release common pheasants or red-legged partridges on certain European sites or within 500m of their boundary published on 31 May 2023, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of that statutory guidance on (a) gamekeepers' jobs, (b) the rural economy and (c) conservation.

The Government supports gamebird shooting for all the benefits it brings to individuals, the environment and the rural economy. The Government wants to see a vibrant working countryside that is enhanced by a biodiverse environment. We recognise the valuable role gamekeepers play in protecting and enhancing biodiversity through habitat management and predation control and we support the valuable role shooting provides to the rural economy. We monitor the impacts of many different rural businesses have on the rural economy and factor that into decision making whenever possible. We recognise the challenges that avian influenza presents and are considering how we can mitigate the impact on the shooting interests and the wider community.