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What is the Severe Weather Scheme?
The Scheme to reduce disturbance to waterfowl during severe winter weather (also often known as the ‘Severe Weather Scheme') runs in Great Britain from 7 November to 20 February. The Severe Weather Scheme is designed to help with conservation of waterfowl – ducks, geese, and waders – by reducing disturbance to them during periods of prolonged cold weather. Through the scheme, shooting organisations co-operate closely with voluntary and statutory nature conservation organisations to minimise disturbance to birds during such severe weather.
The season for waterfowl shooting inland closes on 1 February and for foreshore shooting it closes on 21 February. However, the relevant Secretary of State(s) has power to impose a temporary close season of waterfowl shooting during 'severe weather' (Wildlife and Countryside Act Section 2). The Severe Weather Scheme provides an agreed process as to what qualifies as 'severe weather'.
In addition to criteria for a statutory suspension of shooting, through the Scheme criteria have been agreed for periods of less-prolonged severe weather, where voluntary restraint of shooting is encouraged. During periods of severe weather, other sources of disturbance should also be reduced, and countryside users such as bird watchers, bird ringers, walkers, dog-walkers, horse-riders and people participating in water-based sports (for example canoeing and kayaking), should avoid disturbing groups of feeding or resting birds.
Why is the Scheme needed?
For many species of bird, and especially for waterfowl, mid-winter can be an ecological 'bottle-neck' when they have difficulty obtaining enough food, particularly in severe cold weather when the ground becomes frozen. In these circumstances, it is important to reduce any disturbance, such as that caused by waterfowl shooting, because when the birds cease feeding and fly around, they use up their limited energy reserves more quickly.
What happens when the Scheme is applied?
Once severe weather fulfils agreed criteria and there appears to be no sign of a change the British Association of Shooting and Conservation (BASC) normally calls on waterfowl shooters to exercise voluntary restraint in shooting where appropriate.
Once stricter criteria are met, a statutory suspension comes into force. This prohibits the shooting of any bird on Schedule 2 Part 1 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981; in effect it introduces a temporary close season for these birds. This applies throughout the specified country or countries, affecting all inland and coastal waterfowl shooting. This suspension will be widely publicised.
During periods of both voluntary restraint and statutory suspension of shooting, waterfowl shooters, and all who use the countryside, are encouraged to provide information on the conditions of birds and habitats by completing a bird condition form. This allows us to better assess how the weather is affecting birds and identify the most appropriate action to take.
What constitutes ‘severe weather’ under the Scheme?
The criteria for what constitutes a 'severe weather' period have been agreed among the statutory nature conservation bodies, government departments and non-governmental organisations, including BASC, RSPB and WWT.
In this Scheme, England and Wales are dealt with as a single ecological management unit, separately from Scotland. This is because, within Great Britain, birds tend to move westwards (as well as south) with the Welsh coast often receiving birds displaced from the frozen eastern coast of England.
A network of 25 meteorological stations located throughout England, Scotland and Wales provide air and grass temperatures on a daily basis during the Scheme season (which runs from 7 November to 20 February). The stations are chosen to broadly reflect the weather conditions around the coast and are often close to major estuaries and centres of foreshore shooting.
When more than half of these meteorological stations (in Scotland and/or England/Wales) have recorded frozen conditions (determined from minimum air and grass temperatures) it is recorded as a ‘frozen day’. The number of consecutive frozen days is used to inform voluntary restraint and statutory suspension of shooting. The count of consecutive frozen days is reset after a period of 3 days of thaw (when less than half the stations are ‘frozen’). Periods of thaw shorter than 3 days neither count towards nor reset the count of consecutive frozen days.
More detailed information, including locations of the weather stations, is available in the following resource: 'Severe Weather scheme criteria and stations'.
Voluntary Restraint
If frozen conditions continue for seven consecutive days (allowing for short periods of thaw), the nature conservation bodies liaise with the British Association of Shooting and Conservation (BASC), to decide if a period of voluntary restraint is required.
Calls for voluntary restraint of waterfowl shooting will be publicised by BASC on their website. BASC will also email all its wildfowling clubs and shooting syndicates calling for voluntary restraint in waterfowl shooting in those parts of the country which are affected (and warning of the possibility of a statutory suspension if conditions persist). In addition, the relevant statutory nature conservation bodies and other organisations who are party to the scheme may also publicise such calls.
For more information on Voluntary Restraints, visit the BASC website.
Statutory suspension
On the 13th day of frozen conditions, if more than half of the relevant meteorological stations are still frozen, a case is presented to the relevant Secretary of State(s) requesting a suspension on waterfowl shooting due to the severe weather. Such suspensions can be implemented in Scotland only, in England and Wales only, or in Scotland and England and Wales, dependent on the extent of the cold weather. Once the Statutory Instrument has been signed, it comes into force at 00:01 (one minute past midnight), two days after the case was presented.
Once a statutory suspension is confirmed it will be publicised widely. In accordance with the Wildlife and Countryside Act, an announcement is placed in The Gazette. BASC will inform all its wildfowling club secretaries, Joint Councils and game shooting syndicates, and it will set up a 24-hour telephone information service in all regions of the country. Defra, Scottish Government, Welsh Government, JNCC and relevant country-based statutory nature conservation organisations will publicise statutory suspensions on their websites. Other organisations who are party to the scheme are likely to do the same.
A statutory suspension of waterfowl shooting is for an initial period of 14 days, with a review after seven days. If, after seven days after the suspension has commenced, the weather conditions have improved and the forecast is for a continuation of this improvement, then the lifting of the suspension can be recommended. Any lifting of the suspension before the full 14 days will take into consideration the need for a period of recovery for waterfowl after the end of the severe weather itself. In the event of an early lifting of the suspension, Defra, Welsh Government and/or Scottish Government undertake publicity campaigns to inform the shooting community.
If there has been no thaw and the weather is still severe then the statutory suspension continues for the full 14 days.
There can be an extension of the statutory suspension beyond 14 days, through the signing of a second Statutory Instrument, if there is still severe weather and no improvement in weather conditions is forecast. The management of the second period of suspension is undertaken in the same manner as the first.
The roles of the organisations involved in the severe weather scheme during periods of severe weather
A network of representatives from the country nature conservation bodies, shooting and game keeping associations and various conservation organisations are alerted by JNCC when there are periods of severe weather. It is each organisation’s responsibility to disseminate this information to their regional staff, shooting clubs and syndicates and other users of waterfowl habitat, to encourage them to minimise disturbance to birds. They are also encouraged to provide feedback on local conditions during periods of prologued severe weather by completing the bird condition form. They should pay particular attention not only to the foreshore and freezing of inland waters and feeding grounds, but also to the condition of birds, bird numbers and movements, appearance of unusual species, significance of wind chill and to snow cover.
An important role of the organisations involved with the scheme is to publicise and encourage compliance with any call for voluntary restraint, or statutory suspension. In addition, it is important for them to encourage reduction of other forms of disturbance, such as bird watching, bird ringing, walking, dog-walking, horse-riding and water-based sports (e.g. canoeing or kayaking). Organisations responsible for relevant areas of land are also asked to consider altering access routes in particularly vulnerable locations.
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