Should the government address the issue of tree netting?

Netting is being spotted all over England, often in places where preparation work is being carried out for planned housing developments

It’s finally spring, the time of year when the flowers bloom, the sun is out for longer and birds are nesting.

But nesting is not being made easy in many parts of England, with increased reports of developers covering hedges and trees with netting.

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) says developers do this to make it easier for them to remove greenery when the time comes, as although it’s an offence to destroy an active nest, there are no laws to prevent the installation of nets to stop birds nesting in the first place.

One of several high-profile figures to condemn the practice is naturalist and broadcaster Chris Packham, who has described it as “ghastly” and the “antithesis of everything conservation stands for”.

The RSPB – which says the UK has lost more than 40 million birds in the past 50 years – has now asked the government to address this issue.

Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust says netting “seems to be an increasingly common practice”, which it’s seeing “more and more on developments”, while the Woodland Trust believes it’s been happening for a few years.

A petition calling for netting hedgerows to become a criminal offence has more than 36,000 signatures and a campaign has been started asking people to send photographs of netting to their local authority, including the #NestingNotNets hashtag, with details about the location.

What are your views?  Have you seen this where you live?  Should a law be passed to stop this practice?