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A film crew for an award-winning Netflix television drama series has been accused of disturbing wildlife as members “encroached” on protected habitat during bird-nesting season.
Stars and a production team for The Witcher descended on Thursley Common in Surrey, a national nature reserve which is home to wildlife including rare species protected by law.
The crew used quad bikes, lights and smoke, and made loud noises, all of which would have disturbed ecosystems, according to Wild Justice, an organisation co-founded by BBC presenter Chris Packham.
Netflix had permission for the shoot from Natural England, which manages Thursley Common and said the filming was monitored by an ecologist.
Conservationists said small animals could have been trampled on and the noise and lights could have caused scared birds to abandon their nests containing chicks, leaving them to die, or reduced their ability to brood eggs or feed young.
The Witcher, a fantasy series based on novels by Polish writer Andrzej Sapkowski, was among the most viewed shows in the US after its release.
It received rave reviews, and this year it won Best Special, Visual and Graphic Effects at the British Academy Television Craft Awards.
Stars Liam Hemsworth, Anya Chalotra and Freya Allan are part-way through filming season four.
Thursley Common, an area of lowland heath, is designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest, a Special Protection Area and a Special Area of Conservation with plant, invertebrate, reptile and bird species considered important by ecologists.
It is in the leafy Godalming and Ash constituency of former Tory chancellor Jeremy Hunt.
Wild Justice said it feared legally protected species such as woodlark and Dartford warbler were disturbed during the five-day shoot last month.
The activists said they were particularly concerned about a pair of nightjars that birdwatchers had seen.
“Nightjars are ground-nesting birds with amazingly camouflaged nests, plumage and eggs – they will sit on their nest or brood during the daytime. It’s very hard to spot one even if you’re looking hard, let alone if you’re running around with smoke and wearing big costumes at nighttime,” a spokesperson said.
“It’s hard to see how anything involving smoke, lights, bangs, quadbikes and lots of feet wouldn’t cause any damage or disturbance, especially on a site with multiple levels of protection that’s home to rare and sensitive wildlife, and especially during the breeding season.”
“Wild Justice is concerned about this level of disturbance at a protected site and about the role of Natural England, which owns the land,” they said. The organisation is awaiting a response from the government body about licences issued.
Natural England confirmed to The Independent it had permitted the filming, saying it was allowed only on areas that were car park or that had been harmed by recent fires, and where officials were confident there was “low sensitivity” for wildlife.
“Whatever happened to wildlife sanctuaries, once sacrosanct, respected and protected. A place only for nature,” said one critic on social media.
The income from Netflix is due to go to the reserve, Natural England said.
Filming took place again this week, but it was not clear whether that was for The Witcher.
Netflix said an ecological risk assessment was done before the shoot and Natural England gave consent.
“An ecologist was present on set every day of filming to ensure compliance with agreed guidelines and mitigations,” the company said.
“Natural England also visited the site with the production team after filming and were very happy with the condition.”
Asked about potential disturbance of wildlife, a Natural England spokesperson said: “These claims are untrue – filming was always supervised by an ecologist, who had the power to stop proceedings if our strict conditions were not met.
“No issues of concern were raised during the activity, and we are satisfied that all agreed safeguards were complied with.”
