Last week Shooting Times reported that prospects for the grouse season were mixed, with Perthshire estates expecting a good year but a poor season predicted for the North York Moors. A wet winter, followed by a dry spring with a return of rain in the summer, has created conditions for…
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The virtual country show you need to visit
Fieldsports shows may have been postponed for now but the International Virtual Hound Show (iVHS) has caught our eye, which runs until 4th September. It offers the stalls and shopping, hound shows, online auctions and charity bids you’d expect to see at a game fair. We all know that fieldsports…
Demand for venison is crashing
Tree- planting targets and good woodland management is being put at risk as the demand for venison crashes. Game dealers in the south and east of England have begun to refuse to take venison because their cold stores are full and they are unable to find buyers for the meat. The…
Game Fair future ‘financially stable’ following sale to Dubai-based owners
Public events may have taken a battering due to Covid but the Game Fair has an assured future thanks to the financial backing of its new owners, World Media Group (WMG), which, amongst other events, has run the Abu Dhabi International Hunting and Equestrian Exhibition (ADIHEX). Last week, the Game…
GWCT launches fact checking website to counter misreporting
In a move to address the frequent misreporting of science relating to land management and shooting in the national press, radio and media, the GWCT has launched a fact checking website: “What the Science Says”. “We want to correct bad information in the media, highlighting where claims have no basis…
New underkeeper apprenticeship launched
A new apprenticeship scheme for underkeepers has been given the green light. Unveiling details of the scheme, Adrian Blackmore, director of shooting for the Countryside Alliance, said: “We seized the opportunity in 2016 to support estates in developing a gamekeeper standard, when it was announced that the existing courses would…
Just what is happening with hare coursing season?
The Lincolnshire police force is reporting that it is making excellent progress in deterring hare coursers, reporting a decline in crimes and states: “There were 1048 incidents of hare coursing reported to us across the county between September 2019 and March 2020. For the same period during 2018 to 2019…
Defra director Ben Goldsmith accused of releasing deer and wild boar
Reports have alleged that Defra director Ben Goldsmith has allowed red deer to escape from his Somerset farm. (The official post held by Mr Goldsmith, 39, is as a non-executive board member at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.) There have been calls for him to resign on…
Drones suspected in springer puppy snatch
An Irish gundog enthusiast who has been the victim of a horrific crime has spoken exclusively about the experience to Shooting Times. Rachel Doyle, from Enniscorthy in County Wexford, found that her springer spaniel bitch, Daisy, had been snatched from a locked kennel along with her litter of seven-week-old pups.…
What the new firearm and shotgun certificate figures published by the Home Office tell us about shooting sports today
The new firearms and shotgun certificate figures make interesting and encouraging reading for shooting sports, with over half a million people actively involved. On 31 March 2020, there were 586,351 people in possession of a firearm and/or shotgun certificate. The number of firearms held on a certificate has increased slightly…
Fieldsports fan Sir Ian Botham to sit in the House of Lords
Fieldsports has a new ally in the House of Lords as Sir Ian Botham has been awarded a peerage. The keen Shot and fisherman was knighted in 2007 and is a vocal supporter of shooting and fishing, founding the “You Forgot the Birds” campaign to monitor wildlife groups and put…
RSPB announces first results of gamebird shooting review
Last year the RSPB announced that it was reviewing its policy on gamebird shooting and would be investigating moorland management for driven grouse shooting and non-native gamebird release. As part of the process it consulted with members, volunteers, staff and stakeholders. The charity has now published its first-stage findings, which…
BASC announces a £1m plus ‘Fighting Fund’ to protect shooting
In response to recent challenges by the likes of Wild Justice, the British Association of Shooting and Conservation (BASC) has announced that it has launched a seven figure fund to enable the body to launch effective legal defences that threaten the shooting community’s future. BASC chairman Eoghan Cameron spoke to…
Former Lord Mayor of York forced to apologise after welcoming death of fieldsports fan and World Cup hero Jack Charlton
Keen Shot and fisherman Jack Charlton died on 10 July, prompting an offensive response by York councillor and former Lord Mayor Dave Taylor who wrote on his Facebook page: “Jack ‘Bloodsports’ Charlton is dead. Good.” When somebody commented on his remark he responded: “I didn’t advocate being cruel to him,…
Wildfowlers face worrying future
Wildfowlers in two of the sport’s most important heartlands may be unable to shoot because long-standing ‘consents’, which allow sustainable wildfowling on European protected sites, have not been renewed by Natural England. One of the refused consents covers areas of the Humber Estuary and the other covers part of Morecambe…
Huge Scottish wild boar shot after Highlands sheep rampage
A large wild boar, estimated to weigh 24 stone (150kg), has been shot dead after being considered responsible for a spate of sheep killing on a Highland farm. Twitter account user @highlandfowler wrote on 17 June: “A keeper friend of mine was called to help find out what was killing…
Volunteers needed to monitor mink rafts in Scotland
A major Scottish project to remove American mink is looking for volunteers to help run mink rafts. Ben Seaman, with the Cromarty Firth Fishery Trust, said: “We monitor for mink presence using a network of mink rafts which are looked after by volunteers….we have gaps in the network we’d like…
Judicial review on gamebird release granted to Wild Justice
Wild Justice has successfully applied for a judicial review on the impact of releasing gamebirds on sites of nature conservation. If the review is successful it could have major implications for the 2021 pheasant and partridge shooting season. The animal rights activist explained its reasoning for pushing for the review…
Mountain hare shooting banned in Scotland
Mountain hares in Scotland will have year-round legal protection following an amendment to the law proposed by Green MSP Alison Johnstone, which passed by 60 to 19 votes. At present mountain hares are controlled between 1 August-28 February to protect trees, fragile habitats and to manage tick populations. The mountain…
General licence extension by DEFRA
General licence holders needing to control wild birds will be relieved to learn that DEFRA has reissued the current permits from 1 August to 31 December 2020. The department has confirmed that no action is required by the licence users beyond the ‘ongoing requirement to act in accordance with the licence…