Amnesty for unwanted guns A firearm surrender programme run by all the UK’s police forces is under way. The scheme, which began on 12 May and runs until 29 May,…
Matt Cross
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No poults, chicks or eggs will come from France to the UK for this rearing season
Shooting Times understands that meetings between French and UK authorities, as well as representatives of the shooting and game farming industries, have been trying to find a way forward; however…
Gamekeeper tells court of how he caught police officer’s killer
A video shown in court recorded the moment that gamekeeper Gavin Tucker challenged 22 year-old Callum Wheeler after finding him behaving suspiciously on private land near where the body of…
Countryside citizens express anger over mass trespass
Justifying the event, author and land reform campaigner Guy Shrubsole told The Big Issue: “Regular access to nature is vital to people’s physical and mental health, yet so much of…
HSE announces plan to effectively ban lead ammunition
The sweeping restrictions have been proposed in a ‘restriction dossier’ from the agency. Announcing the proposal, the agency said: “An unacceptable risk has been identified for both hunting with lead…
Ed Coles’s hare coursing law changes pass final hurdle
The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill received Royal Assent on the 28th of April and now is law. The Act amends some existing legislation by increasing the maximum penalty…
BGA launches new associate membership scheme
Joining the scheme will allow shoots to advertise as ‘associated with British Game Assurance’. This allows shoots to explore accreditation without the financial outlay or requirement for audit visits. A…
Bird flu outbreak tails off, but challenges still remain
New cases are still being reported in France, however the rate of increase in the crucial Pays de la Loire region has continued to slow. Only three new cases were…
Over the counter rodenticides posing threat to Britain’s wild birds
Brodifacoum and Bromadiolone are types of poison called second generation anticoagulant rodenticide (SGARs). These poisons were introduced in the late 1970s as rats and mice evolved resistance to existing poisons…
Poacher caught out by incriminating WhatsApp messages
Thirty-eight year old Mark Bond, of Westwood Road, Maidstone, was found guilty of killing a fallow deer and causing unnecessary suffering to a dog after a trial at Maidstone Magistrates…
Is Scottish salmon farming business linked to Russian intelligence services?
The secretive businessman Yury Lopatynskyy who was born in Ukraine and brought up in the United States, has close links to the Russian financial system and is believed to have…
More bad news for shoots as feed and fuel prices continue to rise
Wheat, the key feed for gamebirds, has continued to rise in price as the war in Ukraine enters a new phase. Feed typically makes up just under a quarter of…
Is Wales moving towards a ban on all fieldsports?
The Welsh government appears to be growing increasingly hostile to fieldsports and deaf to concerns over conservation impact. A post which was widely circulated on fieldsports groups across a number…
2022 bird flu outbreak – what we know so far and latest updates
April 14 The french bird flu outbreak continues to slow, but new cases are still being reported. New cases in Vendée, the most important department for gamebird production, showed…
Study showing falling hare numbers disputed
A study funded by the People’s Trust for Endangered Species found fewer hares on grouse moors in the Peak District than on areas managed for conservation. The authors then went…
Bird flu outbreak slows in certain areas, but grows in others
Meanwhile, shortages of pheasant eggs and chicks are beginning to affect British shoots. The outbreak is focused on the Vendée department in North West France; this department and the neighbouring…
Can shoots survive as price hikes bite?
The Atlantic surface pressure chart is strangely fascinating. It’s produced by the Met Office to show isobars, depression and fronts. You can play a time-lapse of the charts over several…
Bird flu update – how hard is it hitting British farms?
Data released by the French agriculture ministry showed that in the last week of March, cases in the main gamebird rearing areas of Vendée and Loire Atlantique continued to increase,…
Wild Justice moves against woodcock shooting
Wild Justice is calling for the start of the woodcock season to be moved from the start of October (September in Scotland) to the first of December. In its members’…
National Resources Wales approve change to general licences
The Board of Natural Resources Wales has voted to approve a set of changes to the Welsh general licences which will prevent their use to control magpies, jackdaws and jays…