National Trust says it's not against shooting

More than 70 shooting leases are held on National Trust land.

By Barnaby Dracup

Thursday, 24 February 2011

The National Trust has hit back at claims made by members of a syndicate on the Wallington Estate in Northumberland, which had its lease terminated recently, that the organisation has an 'alarming' ignorance of shooting.

Speaking excusively to Shooting Times magazine, the trust’s director of conservation, Peter Nixon, said that the events at Wallington were not part of a nationwide anti-shooting policy and that it would be “unfair” to brand the trust as anti-shooting.

Mr Nixon said: “Our overall policy on shooting has not changed — we understand the importance of countryside traditions and we allow fi eldsports to take place on our properties where they are traditionally practised providing they are compatible with our purposes — public access and nature conservation.”

Concerns about the trust were also raised by shooters after the release of a document entitled National Trust Launches Drive to get Britain Outdoors.

Despite promising to promote a range of activites that take place on Trust land, the document failed to mention shooting or any other country sport.

But Mr Nixon pointed to more than 70 leases or licences for shooting held on trust land as evidence of a commitment to the sport: “We still grant a lot of licences and leases. There is no national instruction or policy to say not to renew shooting licences.”

“I hope we have good relations with our sporting tenants and licensees — there is absolutely no agenda to work in any other direction. The whole challenge of good estate management is to accommodate a variety of different uses. Land in England, in particular, is under a lot of pressure for many different purposes, and recreation, of which shooting is one form, is an important part of that.”

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Comments

matt m

Mon, 13th Jun 2011 15:18:38

The National Trust have just informed us that they will not be renewing our lease at Polesden lacey, a shoot that has been their for over 50 years. A house that has had game shooting since victorian times. A shoot that is a fully paid up BASC syndicate, that opperates under BASC codes of practice, a shoot that respects the public and has an impeccable safety record. Now it seems that The National Trust who "don't have an anti shooting policy" want us out, as we don't fit in with there future plans. This comes from an estate manager who has no idea what the differance between a rifle and a shotgun is and has brought the Trust into severe difficulties regarding health and safety due to her vermin controll policy by means of outside contractors. The National Trust have also closed a syndicate shoot on their land at lieth Hill which is local to us. Thank God they don't have an 'Anti Shooting Policy' because if they did then they'd start closing syndicate shoots by not renewing their leases, oh they are ! Just how many leases were granted 10 yrs ago ?

Doug Parker

Thu, 10th Mar 2011 20:12:29

The National Trust states that it still grants "more than 70 leases or licences for shooting" It would be interesting to know how this number compares with the numbers granted 5, 10, 15 or 20 years ago. If it is less then undoubtedly the National Trust is carrying out, by stealth, an anti-shooting policy.