Terry Mansbridge, Chairman of the Moran Committee’s Bird Group, and who gave pre-recorded comments to the Today programme on Radio 4, comments, “Once again the RSPB have misconstrued the truth. Defra have not changed their policy. Neither can I understand why the RSPB play games with the numbers of breeding birds in either England or the UK. Julian Hughes quoted different numbers in the press release and the radio interview.
Mansbridge continues, “The new policy relates to the winter period, when cormorants are known to have the greatest impact on fisheries. The winter cormorant population in the UK numbers at least 23,000 birds, numbers accepted by the RSPB, and the cormorant population has increased four fold in the last twenty five years. The effect of licensed removal needs to be considered against total wintering numbers and it is misleading to compare them with breeding numbers as control will not take place during the breeding season. The RSPB’s press release implied that the Government authorised licensing system would kill off almost the entire population of cormorants in England. This is nonsense.”
Paul Knight, Director of the Salmon & Trout Association says, “I think the RSPB are losing all credibility over this and they need to recognise that cormorants and fish are part of the same complex and dynamic ecosystem. Management needs to take into account the needs of more than a single species of bird.”
