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Interview with Sir Ian Botham

The former first class cricketer is a passionate game shot and fisherman. Here he shares what he enjoys most about shooting and fishing, what changes he'd make at the RSPB and why the You Forgot the Birds campaign still has much work to do

Sir Ian Botham

Sir Ian Botham's ideas should be encouraged

How and when did you get into shooting?

I’m a country boy so it was a natural thing for me to do: I was brought up in Somerset and since I was 18 I’ve lived in the rural north of England. So basically I’ve been shooting since I was old enough to hold a gun and go out with a farmer friend or my father. We never shot things for the sake of it; we always shot for the pot. So shooting has been in my blood since I was a kid.