Minister relaunches campaign to prevent illegal poisoning

Lord Rooker, Minister for Sustainable Food, Farming and Animal Health relaunched the new version of the Campaign for Illegal Poisoning of Wildlife on the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust's stand at the CLA Game Fair this weekend.

The Campaign Against Illegal Poisoning of Wildlife (CAIP) aims to protect some of Britain's wildlife from accidental and illegal poisoning by pesticides. The Pesticide Safety Directorate leads the campaign which is strongly supported by a range of organisations associated with animal welfare, nature conservation, field sports and gamekeeping, including the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust, RSPB, Natural England, the Countryside Alliance, and the British Association for Shooting and Conservation and FWAG.

The Campaign, which promotes legal pest control, aims to advise farmers, gamekeepers and other land managers on legal ways of controlling pests. The consortium involved in the campaign also aims to advise the public on how to report illegal poisoning incidents and to respect the need for legal alternatives.

Dr Mike Swan, with the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust, said, "We welcome our increased involvement in the Campaign and look forward to collaborating with other members of the consortium for the next three years to deliver this new initiative. The Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust will be jointly responsible with other consortium partners for providing the necessary training to gamekeepers, farmers and land managers on best practice in pest and predator management."