Policy paper

Summary of Natural England’s position on wild take licensing for falconry and aviculture

Published 6 March 2025

Applies to England

Natural England is responsible, on behalf of Defra, for determining licence applications to take birds of prey from the wild (‘wild take’) in England for use in falconry and aviculture. This page summarises Natural England’s position – endorsed by Defra ministers – following a review of wild take licensing.

Background

Falconry has a long history in England and is typically defined as involving the use of a trained bird of prey to hunt wild birds (known as ‘quarry’ species). The native species most widely used is the peregrine falcon. Taking birds of prey from the wild for this purpose stopped in England in the 1980s due to conservation concerns over their populations. Since then, captive-bred birds have been used instead. Over the same period, the number of practising falconers increased substantially.

In recent years, a small number of licence applications have been received by Natural England. Three licences to take peregrine falcon chicks were issued in 2020 – the first in over 30 years. These licences were never used and have now expired.

In 2022, Natural England and Defra concluded that further evidence gathering and stakeholder engagement were required to inform policy around wild take licensing. A temporary suspension in wild take licensing was put in place to enable a review to take place. 

What we did  

Natural England led a review using a mixture of methods, including social science research and participatory stakeholder approaches, to examine historical and cultural aspects of falconry practice in England and how this has changed over time. The review also looked at evidence on the behaviour and genetics of captive and wild bird of prey populations. The process included workshops, interviews, a literature review, and a public call for evidence. 

The scope of the review was strictly limited to the consideration of activities relating to the taking of native birds of prey from the wild in England for falconry and aviculture. Licences to kill certain ‘quarry’ species of wild birds in the course of falconry are considered separately. More information on these licences can be found at Wild birds: apply for a licence to kill wild birds for falconry (A41 and LR41.

Outcome  

The review was completed in late 2023. It concluded that wild take is not integral to the continued practice of falconry or aviculture in England, and that suitable birds of the relevant species can be readily sourced from existing captive populations. The review concluded that captive-bred birds can perform to a comparable standard to wild birds when appropriately trained and handled, and that there is no evidence of significant inbreeding risks in captive populations of the relevant species.

Whilst many falconers are clearly passionate about birds of prey and spending time outdoors connecting with nature, the review process highlighted no clear consensus within the falconry community or the available falconry literature regarding the specific cultural value or importance of wild take to British falconers. The use of ‘wild’ birds of prey is not specifically referred to in most modern definitions of falconry, such as those provided by the International Association for Falconry, the British Falconers’ Club, and as part of the falconry-specific entry on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. There are also limited historical references to wild take being of specific cultural importance to British falconers.

Thanks to advances in captive breeding and increases in the availability of captive-bred birds of prey birds since the 1980s, the number of practising falconers in the UK has grown substantially. It is thought that there were around 400 falconers active in the UK in 1981. In 2007, it was estimated that birds of prey were being kept by 25,000 individuals, 5,000 of whom were practising falconers. Restrictions on taking birds from the wild do not appear to have had a detrimental impact on the popularity of the sport. Falconry organisations estimate that less than 10% of their members would potentially be interested in engaging in wild take under licence.

As a result of these conclusions, it is highly unlikely that any wild take licence application will be able to satisfy the relevant licensing tests.

Defra’s decision and implications for Natural England’s approach

Having considered evidence from the review, Defra ministers have endorsed Natural England’s recommendation to adopt a presumption against issuing licences to take wild birds of prey for falconry and aviculture. Whilst the power to grant licences remains on statute, Defra ministers support the view that licences should not be issued other than in exceptional circumstances. No evidence was provided during the review process that would support the issuing of licences for any specific exceptional circumstances at the present time.

This transparent approach will avoid putting prospective applicants through a potentially burdensome licence application process with limited chances of success. Anyone considering applying for a licence on the basis of exceptional circumstance should pay particular attention to the following key conclusions of the review process:

1. Surplus supply of birds: The growth in UK exports of captive-bred falcons suggests that UK stocks are sufficient in size not only to meet demand in the UK, but also to supply overseas markets.

2. Genetic provenance: There is no robust scientific evidence suggesting falconers are unable to source birds of a sufficiently close genetic match to wild British populations from current captive stocks. The available evidence also suggests that the issue of genetic provenance is not of particular cultural significance when it comes to the use of such birds for falconry purposes.

3. Inbreeding and genetic health: There is no robust scientific evidence of a current need for wild take to maintain the genetic health of captive populations. If robust evidence of such a need were to emerge in future, a detailed plan would be required to demonstrate why there were no viable alternatives and how any proposal to take birds from the wild would enhance the genetic health of the overall captive population of the relevant species. Any proposals would also require evidence of a robust system of record-keeping and coordinated studbook management to minimise any future need for further wild take.

4. Genetically linked differences in the performance of captive-bred birds: There is no robust scientific evidence to suggest that there are significant genetically-linked deficiencies in the performance of captive-bred birds when used for falconry purposes. If such performance differences were to be identified, they are more likely to be a result of environmental rather than genetic factors and would need to be addressed by making changes to bird husbandry techniques in the first instance.