| CHIEF EXECUTIVE'S REPORT
A privilege to thank you all for your support © Hugh Nutt
Teresa Dent CBE, Chief Executive
Our scientists and students worked above and beyond last year to make sure our fieldwork and long-term data collection continued. © GWCT
4 | GAME & WILDLIFE REVIEW 2020
Long-term data collection and scientific fieldwork continued. Policy work increased with our research coming to the fore. All our members and supporters were unbelievably generous in supporting us through 2020. 2020 was an extremely difficult year for everyone; charities including the GWCT being no exception. However, I am proud of the outcomes we achieved, even though the way we went about our work had to change dramatically after the first Covid-19 lockdown in March 2020. Almost all our scientific fieldwork took place, all under Health England, Health Scotland and Public Health Wales guidelines, with the permission of landowners. Our scientists were very creative (and committed) in achieving this within households, bubbles and enlisting kind family members willing to get up early, walk miles, get cold, hot, wet or muddy to support our fieldwork. Our long-term data collection underpins all our science and this hard work prevented a very damaging gap in our data collection. It was a very busy year in terms of taking GWCT science into policy in Westminster, Holyrood and the Senedd. All that work shifted online and if anything got busier. The GWCT is probably the only scientific organisation in the UK with a team of scientists specialising in predation management and control. Our body of science was essential evidence for the review of General Licences (for the control of pest species to protect agriculture and species of conservation concern) that took place in England, Wales and Scotland. That issue kicked off in March 2019 and was still unresolved for European Protected Sites by Christmas 2020 (see pages 6-8). The GWCT has also done the bulk of the research into the environmental benefits and disbenefits of gamebird management; whether wild or released gamebirds. A review of this evidence was commissioned by Natural England (NE) as a result of the Wild Justice judicial review into whether Defra had undertaken sufficient assessment of the impact of releasing gamebirds on or near European Protected Sites. We collaborated with Exeter University to produce the evidence review for NE (see page 64). It showed clearly that any negative impacts from gamebird releasing are very localised to the release site, with positive impacts on habitats and other wildlife at both the local and landscape scale. Our evidence and expertise on gamebirds also fed into the Werritty Review in Scotland (see page 6) and the ongoing review of the release of gamebirds in Wales (see page 8). We were honest with our members and supporters about the impact Covid-19 was likely to have on our fundraising. GWCT has always been blessed with committed volunteers around the country, who as part of our county groups in England, Scotland and Wales do an amazing job fundraising for us through local events. We also have
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