Bird protest link of Natural England chief
THE NEW head of Natural England was facing questions last night over his links with the group that petitioned for the ban on shooting birds.
Tony Juniper, a self-described “eco-warrior”, began his role on Wednesday and announced a ban on shooting “pest” birds without an individual licence, angering farmers. It has now emerged he collaborated on a book with Mark Avery, the leader of Wild Justice, whose legal challenge prompted the ban.
WHEN Tony Juniper was interviewed for the job of Natural England chairman, he vowed to leave decades of ecoactivism “in the past”.
The former Green Party candidate is now facing questions, however, over whether he may have broken that promise on his very first day in the job.
MPS and campaigners have raised concerns over the timing of a controversial decision to ban the shooting of a number of birds widely acknowledged to be pests, including pigeons and crows.
The announcement was made without warning last month only hours after Mr Juniper, the former head of Friends of the Earth and self-described “eco-warrior”, took up his post.
Furious farmers and landowners accused Natural England of leaving the countryside at the mercy of uncontrolled pests. Mr Juniper responded by insisting that the move was “certainly” not his “initiative”. Later, however, he liked a social media post congratulating him on a “nice first day on the job”.
Last night the 58-year-old veteran campaigner, who once co-wrote a Penguin book on climate change with the Prince of Wales, said it was “categorically incorrect” to suggest that he had anything to do with the shooting ban.
The decision predated his appointment, he said.
Questions have been raised, however, over Mr Juniper’s links to Wild Justice, a little-known campaign group whose High Court legal challenge prompted the ban.
It has emerged that Mr Juniper has close ties to Mark Avery, the group’s co-founder, a former RSPB conservation director.
The pair appear to go back a long way. Two years ago, Mr Juniper collaborated on Behind More Binoculars, a book about birds written by Mr
Avery. The pair have appeared on conservation panels together, and have interacted on social media for years. Mr Avery once described Mr Juniper as his “bird hero”, while both have regularly praised each other’s various campaigns, including against grouse shooting.
When Mr Juniper’s provisional appointment was announced in February, Mr Avery wrote of his pleasure that “one of us” had been given a top job.
Two weeks later, Mr Avery formed Wild Justice with the BBC presenter Chris Packham and shortly afterwards launched a legal challenge that argued it was inhumane to shoot birds as pests.
On Mr Juniper’s first day, it was announced their challenge had been successful, meaning that the shooting of wood pigeons, crows, Canada geese and a number of other species became illegal without a licence.
A source close to Mr Juniper pointed out last night that the decision to drop opposition to the ban had been taken before he officially joined Natural England. However, MPS suggested Mr Juniper should have declared his links with Wild Justice in the weeks before taking the top job.
Philip Dunne MP, a member of the panel that scrutinised Mr Juniper’s appointment, said: “I was content with his appointment, but I do agree that in the era of transparency it might have been appropriate if he was aware that Wild Justice was suing Natural England, he should perhaps have drawn
‘If there are things in his background that he hasn’t declared then the Secretary of State has to act’
[his links] to the attention of the appointments committee.”
Peter Glenser QC, chairman of the British Association for Shooting and Conservation, added: “As the incoming chairman, Tony Juniper has to get a grip, and if there are things in his background that he hasn’t declared then the Secretary of State has to act.” It comes amid broader concern from countryside groups that Michael Gove’s decision to appoint the veteran activist may see conservation prioritised over the rights of farmers.
Since his appointment, Mr Juniper has regularly tweeted his support for “rewilding”, a controversial process in which land is left to grow wild, with landowners banned from managing it.
He has also railed against industrial agriculture, calling for herbicides and pesticides to be banned, as well as criticising nitrogen-rich fertiliser. In 2010 Mr Juniper stood for the Green Party in Cambridge on a pledge to “maintain the ban on hunting with dogs and extend to other blood sports”.
He later joined the WWF, where he ran campaigns criticising modern farming techniques, including one called “Stop the Machine”. A Natural England spokesman said: “The decisions to review the licences… and the corresponding decision to revoke the three general licences predate the start of Tony Juniper’s tenure as chairman.”