There is some genuinely good news for anyone with a shoot on or near a protected site. After a season of real uncertainty, the rules on releasing gamebirds have finally been settled, and settled in shooting’s favour.
On Thursday 3 September 2026, the High Court refused Natural England permission to appeal an earlier judgment that it had licensed gamebird release unlawfully. The judge, Mr Justice Ritchie, also refused to pause the ruling while the regulator considered its options, and awarded the British Association for Shooting and Conservation its full legal costs. The July judgment now binds, with immediate effect.
BASC brought the challenge, funded through its Fighting Fund, arguing that Natural England had stretched the meaning of “release” well beyond what Parliament intended. That interpretation had created serious uncertainty for shoots on or near special protection areas, and some were forced to close because of it. In July the court agreed the regulator had acted beyond its powers. Natural England said it would appeal, and Thursday’s hearing is where that attempt ended.
The judge did not confine himself to the law. According to BASC, he described an earlier threat by Natural England to withdraw all licences under review as tantamount to “bullying”, and said he hoped the regulator would act in a professional and proper way in future, without “idle threats”. He also spoke of the human toll on rural workers, businesses and the communities built around shooting.
BASC chief executive Ian Bell said the judge had reaffirmed that the regulator acted outside the law, and that its behaviour was tantamount to bullying, adding: “Some shoots were forced to close because of Natural England’s actions, and people’s businesses and livelihoods were affected. That matters.”
For anyone with ground on or near a protected site, this brings back the one thing that has been missing all season: settled rules. Releases, keepering and let days can now be planned against the law as Parliament wrote it, rather than against an interpretation the court has rejected and, on Thursday, refused to reopen. The threat of licences being pulled wholesale while under review, the very conduct the judge likened to bullying, is gone.
As the courtroom chapter closes, the policy one opens. On Friday 4 September the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs launched a call for evidence on the rearing, release and shooting of gamebirds, running until 1 November 2026. It is well worth taking part, and we have covered how to have your say in a separate piece. As Ian Bell put it, this is a fight for the future of shooting, and it pays to be ready.
If you are unsure how any of this affects your own shoot, your shooting organisation will be able to advise, and you are always welcome to pop in and talk it through with us.
Based on reporting by Shooting Times and Fieldsports Journal, and on BASC, September 2026. Court ruling of 3 September 2026, BASC v Natural England.
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