Rooks and the GL02

The SACS office has recently received a number of enquiries about the shooting of rooks in Scotland, particularly in relation to “branchers”, immature birds which are still hanging around the nest but haven’t properly learnt to fly. These birds would traditionally have been controlled for a number of reasons, but changes to the General Licences require shooters to be even more focussed on how and why wild birds can be managed. 

Rooks can currently be controlled under the terms of GL02 – To kill or take certain birds for the prevention of serious damage to livestock, foodstuffs for livestock, crops, vegetables and fruit. A degree of confusion arose from the fact that while juvenile “branchers” are unable to leave the trees, they are not actually damaging anything. Some people wondered if this meant they could be controlled under the terms of GL02. 

 After following this up with NatureScot, SACS has been advised that “GL02 is in place to ‘prevent’ serious damage. Therefore taking juvenile birds would seem appropriate providing all other conditions of GL02 are met. This approach is the same as that taken to controlling, say, resident greylag geese by egg oiling. It is important to stress that the onus remains with the practitioner to ensure that they have read and understood the relevant conditions of each general licence. This is a subtle, but important, difference to how the individual licences operate”. 

We hope that this clarifies a potential confusing situation, but we would be happy to handle any other enquiries on the General Licence as it relates to corvid control. 

For more information, visit https://www.nature.scot/doc/general-licence-gl-022021-kill-or-take-certain-birds-prevention-serious-damage-livestock-foodstuffs