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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the (a) population status and (b) ecological role of curlews.

The Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) is the main scheme for assessing the population changes of the UK’s breeding birds. This publication presents trends for breeding bird populations in the UK and for each UK country, showing population changes. The latest Breeding Bird Survey (BTO-JNCC-RSPB BBS Report 2024) shows a 51% decline in the UK’s curlew breeding population between 1995 and 2023.

The latest review of Birds of Conservation Concern (bocc-5-a5-4pp-single-pages.pdf) assessed those bird species that breed or overwinter in the UK. This review, compiled by a coalition of the UK’s leading bird conservation and monitoring organisations, placed the curlew on the red list due to severe population declines.

Curlew fulfil several ecological roles, to include biodiversity indicator, invertebrate control, and ecosystem engineer. Beyond their ecological importance, curlew are also an important part of the cultural landscape of the UK.