This petition is to ask Natural England to stop issuing Permits and/or Licenses to Saltfleet Wildfowling club or any other Wildfowling club

Saltfleet Haven and beach, is on the rural Lincolnshire coast, a Site of Special Scientific Interest and a Ramsar Site.

-Saltfleet is a small village but whose numbers from March until the Middle of November are hugely boosted by privately owned Static caravan owners and tourists who come to Saltfleet for Peace and to enjoy the Wildlife.

The beach is a popular area with walkers , ornithologists, from all over the UK.

The Wildfowlers do not adhere to the rules Natural England set,

Shooting has taken place near to the Haven car park on numerous occasions, far away from designated shooting areas. Members of the Public have been frightened by shooting that has occurred near to the Haven car park. Gun shells have been found frequently on the dunes These are known members of the Wildfowling group ( proof can be supplied) with 55 reports to Police since 2020, because of irresponsible and dangerous shooting practices including Shooting over the heads of People and horse riders within 20 ft of the main walkway on the beach.

They are not shooting flying birds but also resting birds. The guns are being carried through the car park unbroken, there is a total disregard for public safety. They are shooting from Haven Bank across the Haven into the Wildlife Reserve, none of these birds are retrieved and these shooters rarely have retrieval dogs so birds may be left injured.

Police have advised on safe shooting areas but this has been continually ignored. There are no signs anywhere to warn the public that shooting is happening . Wildfowlers have been shooting even in thick fog with low visibility.

The Wildfowlers are exceeding the numbers of shoots Natural England permit. In the 2021/22 season there was shooting every day of the season. The current situation appears to be that the Wildfowlers are being allowed to self Police by saying they are following BASC rules that clearly are not being followed and Natural England are not monitoring the area.

Wildlife, Avian Flu has caused huge problems in this area and birds need help to recover numbers, in the past few years there has been a noticeable decline in Waterfowl.

Natural England permit the shooting of Common Snipe: the harvest of a maximum of 1 individual+ *Canada Goose: no bag limit proposed* *Gadwall: the harvest of a maximum of 1 individual* *Greylag Goose: the harvest of a maximum of 3 individuals* *Pink-footed Goose: the harvest of a maximum of 8 individuals* *Shoveler: the harvest of a maximum of 1 individual* *Teal: the harvest of a maximum of 22 individuals*

The previous permit states that disturbance can be caused to Non-breeding waterbirds: shelduck, golden plover, dunlin, bar-tailed godwit, knot, redshank Non-breeding waterbird assemblage: e.g. dark-bellied brent goose, shelduck, wigeon, teal, mallard, goldeneye, oystercatcher, ringed plover, golden plover, grey plover, lapwing, knot, sanderling, dunlin, bar-tailed godwit, curlew, redshank, turnstone, pink-footed goose, European white-fronted goose and little egret, plus greylag goose 

Users of the beach have found the following shot immediately after the “Wildfowlers” have left including Badgers, Muntjac deer, foxes, cormorant, egrets, gulls, short eared owl, spent gun cartridges

Please protect our Wildlife, in the current Environmental Crisis, Wildlife needs all the help it can get and not to be blasted out of the sky in the name of “Sport”

A Canada goose will travel from 2 to 3 thousand miles, they can travel 1500 miles a day, only to face death on the beach at Saltfleet.