PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
(28 August 2026)

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and Environmental Protection Act 1990 in reducing the impact of noise disruption from bird cannons on (a) rural tourism businesses and (b) local residents; and if she will consider introducing a statutory framework regulating the use of bird cannons, including requirements relating to operating hours, acoustic baffling, identification of the owner, and proximity to residential and tourism premises.

Asked by:
Perran Moon (Labour)

Responsibility for investigating complaints about issues that could be a statutory nuisance, including bird cannons, rests with local authorities. The National Farmers Union produced a voluntary Code of Practice for minimising noise nuisance from auditory bird cannons, and local authorities are likely to take this guidance into account when assessing whether a bird cannon constitutes a nuisance or not. They may still find that a nuisance has occurred where the guidance has been followed. The Government believes that current legislation provides councils with the necessary powers to deal with problems caused by noise and there are no plans for legislative change at this time.

Answered by:
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