Some tima ago I advised RSPB that the website contained information that is incorrect. This information has not been corrected. The error is at URL http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/birdguide/name/r/ringneckedparakeet/problems.aspx
The text of my previous message is as below. Be advised that any mis-informed RSPB member or other person interfering with any person acting under the terms of GL08 is commiting an offence. In the interests of ensuring that your members do not end up in court and attract adverse publicity for your organisation I would urge you to take action as per my
Your Website currently states that "Despite being an introduced species, the ring-necked parakeet is now protected in the wild under the Wildlife and Countryside Act." With effect from 01 Jan 2010 the Ring-necked Parakeet is no longer protected, and may be controlled under the terms of GL08 issued by Natural England on behalf of HM Govt. This also applies to the Monk Parakeet (Myiopsitta monachus). Please amend your website and publicise the facts in order to avoid possible confrontation between pest controllers and miss-informed RSPB members.
You may be better contacting the RSPB through their main site, rather than the community sections. RSPB employees don't check everything :o)
http://www.rspb.org.uk/contactus/
Yes Paul,
I tried that the first time with the
The RSPB website is presenting false information which will potentially cause a confrontation between those who shoot pests under the terms of the general licenses and those who would oppose those actions. The potential for confrontation and people ending up in court exists, not to mention the potential for somone to confront a person who is acting legally but is carrying a gun. Look at it from their point of view. Some confrontational individual interrupts them in their perfectly legal activity, probably trying to prevent them from continuing. Tempers are likely to become frayed and there is likely to be a physical altercation. If the RSPB member attempts to take the gun away they will be guilty of a fireams offence and could end up in jail. If there is a struggle and the gun goes off the pest controller could end up in jail. Worse yet either of them could get seriously hurt, if not dead.
I believe that we should all be mature about this and spread the word that the law has changed in order to prevent any problems arrising.
"If you are not part of the sollution you are sediment"
I agree with Paul
Best way is to contact main site rather than the Forum area
Use the 'Contact us' in the blue area at the bottom of the RSPB forum page as you see it now.
Regards
Kathy and Dave
Hi Parakeet,
first off I respect your thoughts and opinions on the matter and think its highly commendable to get this matter sorted.
Making community members aware is handy too but how about phoning them? Sometimes emails can end up anywhere.
Apologies if you have already phoned and had no luck :o)
Hi Parakeet - the information on the website is correct, and includes the changes that were introduced by Natural England that came into force from 1st January 2010.
"Despite being an introduced species, the ring-necked parakeet is protected in the wild under the Wildlife and Countryside Act. However, it may be killed or taken under the terms of some General Licences. It is illegal to release or allow them to escape into the wild"
Ring-necked parakeets ARE still protected by law under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981and it remains illegal for anyone to kill or interfere with monk and ring-necked parakeets except in exceptional circumstances.
These circumstances are defined in special licences that enable people, on land they own or occupy, to deal with problems where parakeets are:
Causing significant damage to crops
having a significant, negative impact on native wildlife
raising issues affecting public health and safety
You can be, and should expect to be, prosecuted if you kill or injure parakeets for any other purpose than those listed above and do not follow the terms specified in the Licence. You may also only use the Licence in this way if you have exhausted ALL non-lethal methods of deterring them from the area (such as scaring) and shown them to be ineffective. You cannot kill them because they are a 'nuisance' or 'a bit noisy' - killing them for these reasons you would be breaching the terms of the licence and can potentially be prosecuted.
To see Natural England's press release and to read the terms of the Licence regarding monk and ring-necked parakeets please visit their website
I hope that clears up any confusion
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Hi there,
Thank-you for your response. I would like to point out that, at the time of my post the website was still incorrect. I agree that any person acting other than under the terms of the general license would be comitting an offence, however, to clarify, if a species is on the general license list they are no longer protected. In this respect your website remains deliberately misleading and is therefore promoting confrontation. Incitement remains an offence under British and European law. As the species in question are on the general license list the circumstances under which they may be killed or interfered with are no longer "exceptional" they are the norm. Your post is therefore deliberately misleading and is therefore promoting confrontation. My previous statement regarding incitement remains extant.
Please ammend both publications accordingly.
With all respect, i think that you are mis-interpreting the terms of the general licence, and also the terms on the website. So called "pest" species covered by the licence including monk and ring-necked parakeets, feral pigeons, woodpigeons, rooks, crows etc are protected by law under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, except in the circumstances listed in my previous post. This means that it is completely incorrect to assume that these species can be freely removed/killed by the public or anyone else wishing to do so unless they have conformed to the terms in the general licence.
So, if you, or anyone, kills a ring-neck parakeet in their garden because they didn't like or want it there, but not for any of the reasons listed above, then the law has been broken and you may be prosecuted. If a member of the public sees someone carrying out actions that they believe contradict the terms of the licence then they are entitled and advised to contact the police to report them, so it can be investigated. In no way does our website recommend that people confront such people themselves or take the law into their own hands.
I suggest that you contact Natural England on 0845 600 3078 and speak to an adviser there, to clarify the intricacies of their policy and the law surrounding this particular species. The links i posted previously also explain this, and the information on the RSPB website follows information given to us by Natural England.
Parakeet I would like to point out that, at the time of my post the website was still incorrect.
I would like to point out that, at the time of my post the website was still incorrect.
This page was updated on 9 March 2010 (as shown at the foot of the page), i.e. before your original forum post on 26 March 2010.
If you have any questions about the website, please let us know via the contact form which is linked from every page.
Thanks,
Katie
Web Editor