New Code of Good Shooting Practice launched

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By Will Finch

Thursday, 04 October 2012

Revised Code of Good Shooting Practice urges shooters to take personal responsibility in the field and warns against complacency.

The updated Code of Good Shooting Practice, launched last week, places greater emphasis on shooters taking individual responsibility for their actions in the field.

Shooters are encouraged to make their own judgements rather than relying on guidance from others on shoot days.

Shoot captains are also urged to remind their teams not to feel under pressure to shoot birds which are too high or too wide.

The code also warns against taking the status quo for granted.

It states: “We must never be complacent about the future of shooting.”

For the first time, it features Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust guidance on releasing gamebirds, including recommended stocking densities in rearing pens.

The booklet contains five golden rules about safety and respect for the quarry and in the remaining copy a distinction is drawn between advice that “MUST” and “SHOULD” be followed regarding behaviour, safety, responsibility, the public highway, game management and game as food.

Countryside Alliance shooting campaign manager, David Taylor, encouraged all shooters to follow the code.

He commented: “It is vital to show the best possible face to the non-shooting users of the countryside. First impressions count and shape the public’s views of shooting and the shooting community.”

Glynn Evans, head of game and gamekeeping at BASC and secretary of the Code of Good Shooting Practice, said: “The revised code of good shooting practice includes up-to-date guidance on legislation. It sets out the principles which all sportsmen and women should follow.”

The new guidelines, which will replace the 2008 version, have been agreed jointly by the Countryside Alliance, the CLA, BASC, the National Gamekeepers’ Organisation, GWCT, the Scottish Gamekeepers Association, Scottish Land & Estates and the Game Farmers’ Association.