Reform regional director for Wales slammed for 'irresponsible' claims about scheme to save endangered birds

Emily Price 

Reform UK's regional director for Wales' has been urged to visit nest sites of endangered curlew this spring after he made "damaging" and "irresponsible" claims about a survey aimed at saving the bird from extinction.

Torfaen Councillor David Thomas told followers on X that the Natural Resources Wales (NRW) 2026 Breeding Wader Survey would be used against farmers "to justify more top-down land-use decisions".

The survey is being carried out as part of a wider effort to support Welsh farmers in protecting wildlife.

It will focus mainly on one of Wales' most threatened birds - the curlew - while also recording breeding lapwing, snipe, golden plover, dunlin and redshank.

Surveyors will visit selected 1km squares of land - chosen for their high likelihood of hosting breeding curlew - between March and early April 2026, spending up to an hour in each.

If no curlew are found, a second visit will take place on the same area later in April.

Participation is voluntary and the Welsh Government's environmental body says the survey won’t create any new rules or designations for farmers.

Sharing an image of a letter from NRW about the survey online, Reform's David Thomas blasted the plans and claimed that Wales does not have an environmental crisis.

He wrote: "Natural Resources Wales want permission to send surveyors onto private land in 2026.

"Not to help farmers. Not to fix flooding. Not to protect rural livelihoods.

"But to gather data that will be used to justify more top-down land-use decisions, restrictions, and tree-planting schemes that ignore the people who actually live and work on the land.

"This is the same playbook every time: survey → map → regulate → restrict → blame landowners.

"Wales doesn’t have an environmental crisis, it has a Welsh Labour governance crisis.

"Enough of unelected bodies treating rural Wales like a laboratory. Respect landowners. Respect consent. Respect Wales."

Decline

Widespread changes to Wales' countryside have seen curlew numbers decline dramatically over the last 40 years

The birds use large upland and lowland landscapes to breed and feed during the spring and summer.

But changes to modern farming practices, leading to earlier cutting dates for hay and silage, mean that the curlew have less time to allow chicks to fledge.

The wader's rapid and ongoing decline means it is now threatened with extinction as a Welsh breeding bird in the next two decades.

Director of Curlew Action, Mary Colwell, branded the Reform councillor's comments "wrong-headed and damaging".

'Wrong-headed'

She said: "Breeding waders in Wales have suffered catastrophic declines over the last few decades. Birds such as Curlew have seen populations fall by 80% since the 1990s; it could become extinct as a breeding bird in Wales in a decade.

"It is therefore imperative that we work together to protect these cherished birds.  Curlews depend on farmers for their survival, without them their haunting call - the sound of hiraeth and an inspiration for Welsh poets and writers for generations - will be lost from the countryside.

"We can only protect them if we know where the birds are and understand the threats facing them.

"The NRW Breeding Wader Surveys are designed to give us a more complete picture of breeding waders on farmland so that conservationists can work with farmers to safeguard this most precious natural heritage of Wales.

"It is wrong-headed and damaging to suggest there is any other motive than to help the birds and I urge David Thomas to visit curlew nests this spring with Gylfinir Cymru and see the wonderful work being done to keep them singing over our landscapes, he would be most welcome.

"Farmers are the key to protecting so much wildlife in Wales; cooperation and collaboration towards a shared goal is the only way our children will live in a life-filled Wales, a shining example of a country where both people and nature thrive."

Challenges

A Natural Resources Wales spokesperson said: "The 2026 Breeding Wader Survey is a critical step in understanding the status of some of Wales’ most threatened bird species, including the curlew, which is predicted to be on the brink of extinction as a viable breeding species within the next decade.

"Wales faces the twin challenges of climate change and biodiversity loss. While woodland creation is vital for tackling the climate emergency, it must be planned carefully to avoid harming species already in decline.

"This survey will provide robust evidence on where breeding waders occur, helping us ensure tree planting and other land-use changes are carried out in the right places.

"The findings will support joint ambitions to halt species extinction and deliver nature recovery by 2030.

"By improving our understanding of wader populations, we can balance climate action with biodiversity protection and secure wider benefits for nature and people."