A new row has erupted in England's embattled countryside - this time over how farmers and gamekeepers are allowed to control pest birds like crows and pigeons.
Angry rural organisations have attacked licensing reforms which they say mean people will have to prove they have tried non-lethal measures before shooting birds which attack crops, livestock or nests.
Protesters claim the changes mean they risk breaking the law if they shoot crows, rooks, wood pigeons and other pest birds before demonstrating that they have first tried using tactics such as scarecrows and gas guns to frighten them off.
They have also slammed Defra over what they say is a lack of proper consultation with rural interests before introducing the new conditions.
Yesterday it was claimed the moves are a further blow to the countryside, already up in arms at the hunt ban.
Farmers and gamekeepers in the North-East branded them ridiculous and a burden on those charged with looking after the countryside.
The Defra legislative changes, which cover open general licences for the control of carrion crows, rooks, wood pigeons and other pest birds, came into force on Tuesday.
The National Gamekeepers Organisation (NGO), the Country Landowners Association, the Countryside Alliance and other rural groups have condemned them, saying they include many completely new conditions.
A spokesman for the NGO said: "Changing laws that affect the daily lives of gamekeepers at a few hours notice is bad enough but imposing completely new legal requirements like this is quite unacceptable."
Yesterday NGO Northumberland secretary Stuart Maughan, head gamekeeper on the Whitfield Estate in Tynedale, said: "We rely on being able to shoot carrion crows which attack the nests of game birds and pigeons which can destroy areas of crops.
"It is has been generally accepted that at certain times of the year we can shoot them to keep numbers down but now they are saying we must prove we have tried to deter them first. Who is going to decide whether you have tried non-lethal measures for long enough? This seems another ludicrous law which would be very difficult to enforce."
Farmer Richard Dodd, of Belsay, Northumberland, regional director of the Countryside Alliance, said: "This is ridiculous and another nail in the coffin of the countryside. It is like telling pest control people in towns and cities they can't kill rats unless they have tried to frighten them away first, presumably to someone else's property."
A Defra spokeswoman said consultations had been carried out on the new general licences last year. "All we are saying is that people have to demonstrate that they have looked at alternative, non-lethal measures. If these have not worked then, yes, they can shoot species which are causing problems."
