Alliance supports Defra's request for European wildlife regulations to not be revisited

The Countryside Alliance welcomes Defra's announcement today (16 December) that it does not wish to reopen the European Birds and Habitats Directives.

Speaking at the Environment Council of the European Council today, environment minister Rory Stewart said that better implementation is needed for the European nature directives to work more efficiently, rather than new legislation.

The Countryside Alliance has continually lobbied for this result and we are pleased to see the UK join other member states such as Germany, France, Italy and Spain in campaigning to keep the directives closed.

"We are extremely happy that Defra has listened to the views of the more 550,000 people throughout Europe who stated the European Habitats and Wildbirds Directive are currently fit for purpose," said Countryside Alliance chief executive, Tim Bonner.

"The opening of the Directives would create an uncertain future for those of us that use and love the countryside. We now hope that the EU Commission will make the right decision by listening to the public and member states and keep the Directives closed.

"We thank all our members who responded to the consultation and helped Defra make an informed decision. We will now be applying pressure through the European Federation of Associations for Hunting and Conservation (FACE) to ensure the correct decision is taken forward."