Over the centuries man’s activities in the countryside have dramatically altered both the general landscape and many wildlife habitats.  In lowland Britain this has resulted in the disappearance, fragmentation and isolation of important wildlife habitats.  Wet grassland, for example, has disappeared at an alarming rate since the 1950s, resulting in dramatic declines of birds breeding in this habitat.

These days sympathetic management of wildlife sites, particularly on wet grassland has the potential to rapidly increase the overall conservation interest by attracting and supporting high densities of wildlife, especially birds.  The Holkham National Nature Reserve is a good example of this and demonstrates the benefits of raised water levels and cattle grazing management.  These actions have significantly increased both the number of breeding species and the breeding densities of vulnerable ground nesting birds especially, nationally important species, such as Avocet, Redshank, Lapwing and Snipe. Inevitably, many common predators have responded to the abundance of prey with their activity creating serious implications for breeding success and a dilemma for the managers of the Holkham Reserve.

Predator control is an emotive subject, with the potential to draw criticism to people operating control programmes So, any nature conservation organisation contemplating predator control must be clear in their aims and objectives and be able to show adequate justification before implementing predator control measures.

Many of our wildlife habitats can only be described as semi-natural, given mans influence over their management. In lowland Britain, for example, where no truly wild areas exist, nature reserve managers employ many of the methods, livestock species, machinery and equipment used by farmers and other landowners to achieve conservation objectives and maintain habitats and species.  Over time our wildlife has adapted to survive in a managed environment where a natural balance between species no longer exists in the true sense of the meaning.  It is important to bear these facts in mind when considering the role of predator control on nature reserves where rare, vulnerable and perhaps isolated populations of nesting birds occur, and to realise that predator control is just another essential element of management in achieving overall benefits for wildlife

English Nature became involved in predator control at Holkham in 1990 at a time when nesting success among ground nesting birds was low.  A number of common predators were identified as the most significant culprits, namely Fox, Carrion Crow, Stoat and Rat. Subsequently, legal and humane control methods have been used to reduce the numbers of these predators to acceptable levels.  This action has significantly increased breeding productivity among ground nesting birds, with the added benefit of enhancing the experience of many people who visit the reserve to enjoy the breeding season spectacle of wild birds and their offspring.