I’d like to throw Jeremy Corbyn,” began one landowner and keen Shot who wished to remain nameless, “…off a cliff.” By the time you read this, the General Election will be just a week away. And thank goodness — even a short campaign can drag, not least for those working…
News
Rural police back on the Wiltshire beat
A joint endeavour by Wiltshire Police and rural groups, including the National Gamekeepers’ Organisation (NGO), has put 20 dedicated rural officers back on the beat in the county after they were dropped following budget cuts. Police rural and wildlife crime officers are specially trained to understand the unique and complex…
Book your place on our Pigeon Shooting Masterclass with Will Garfit
We are excited to announce the return of our very popular Pigeon Shooting Masterclass with Will Garfit exclusively for readers of Shooting Gazette, Sporting Gun, Shooting Times and the Field. This year’s masterclass will take place on Tuesday 26th September 2017 at a new location for 2017, Sporting Targets in Bedfordshire.…
Gun dealers warned over Islamic State threat
The police have asked registered firearms dealers to be extra vigilant after an online magazine published by Islamic State advised would-be terrorists to acquire guns from gun shops by force. A letter to dealers from Assistant Chief Constable Dave Orford, the National Police Chiefs Council lead for firearms licensing, stressed…
Fox hunting ban repeal could nearer than you think
Shooters have been encouraged to support a repeal of the fox hunting ban after Prime Minister Theresa May pledged to give MPs a free vote on the issue. Mrs May described views on the divisive topic as “a situation on which individuals will have one view or the other, either…
Paul Simpson wins 2017 English Open English Sporting in thrilling final
After a thrilling 30 target Super Final Paul Simpson from Lawshall won the 2017 English Open English Sporting on 14th May, beating Philip Thorold. A late rally from Thorrold saw him drop one target through the first seven on the final stand and it looked as though things were heading for…
Vinnie Jones: “The best times of my life have been working as a gamekeeper …”
Film star and devoted countryman Vinnie Jones was a guest speaker at the final Gamekeepers’ Welfare Trust (GWT) Gamekeeping for Life conference earlier this month. The Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels star, and former professional footballer, spoke of his passion for gamekeeping and rural life and how he devotes most of…
£100k for Humber wildlife
Barton on Humber Wildfowlers Club has secured a £100,000 loan from the Wildlife Habitat Charitable Trust (WHCT) to turn 16 acres of arable farmland into wetland habitat to benefit species including lapwing, golden plover and redshank. The club, which marks its 50th anniversary this year, plans to purchase 15.82 acres…
Met hands over gun owners’ home addresses
Home addresses of around 30,000 London firearm and shotgun owners have been handed over to external marketing agencies by the Metropolitan Police in what BASC described as a “potentially serious breach of trust”. The shooting organisation has contacted Met Commissioner Cressida Dick to question this apparent breach of the Data…
Drama at the Rural Oscars
Rural businesses from across England and Wales were celebrated at the 12th annual Countryside Alliance Awards at the House of Lords two weeks ago — a happy event that took a sombre turn as the Westminster venue was sealed following a terror incident. As the ceremony drew to a close,…
Breaking news: Countryside Alliance refused charitable status
The Commission commented: “Certain purposes of the Alliance relate to preserving, protecting and promoting the heritage and practice of activities related to wildlife, the countryside and wildlife management including hunting, shooting and fishing together with the management of the natural environment; and the advancement of rural community life. “These do…
A victory for common sense over EU gun laws
These proposals have been under consideration and ongoing debate for more than two years and originally included changes criticised as unnecessarily restrictive. Plans to tighten European gun laws were made following the shootings at the Charlie Hebdo offices in Paris in January 2015, but were brought forward by the European…
Tories say STOP! to anti-shooting foundation
The chairman of the Conservative Party, the Rt Hon Sir Patrick McLoughlin MP, has told the anti-shooting Conservative Animal Welfare Foundation (CAWF) to stop using the party logo and to limit its operations. The CAWF drew criticism after it urged the Government to launch a review of the shooting of birds…
The size of the bag is not the point
As shooters we are often guilty of making sweeping assertions as to what the wider public love or hate about what we do. We base our beliefs on what we or our friends think, rather than a more scientific assessment of what voters think. And it’s that category that impacts on us in Parliament and the…
Firearms licensing still a “postcode lottery”
The 2015 Her Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary (HMIC) report Targeting the risk concluded that the application of firearms licensing in England and Wales is “inconsistent and inadequate” with a wide variation in the amount of time it takes to grant and renew a certificate. Shooting Times took a look at…
Volunteers needed to save red squirrels – and cull greys
“In most of the UK there are only a handful of refuges left for red squirrels,” said Dr Cathleen Thomas, programme manager of Red Squirrels United, a conservation partnership started in 2015. “Without help, experts predict this beautiful and treasured creature could be extinct within as little as 35 years.” Volunteers…
Wildfowling club granted £35,000 loan
The Wildlife Habitat Trust (WHT) has granted Clevedon Wildfowling Association a £35,000 loan to buy a plot of land, which the club says will support wildfowling “for generations to come”. The association has been shooting over the 13.80-acre patch of grazing and a pond in Kingston Seymour, North Somerset, for…
5 minutes with Patrick Galbraith – the new editor of Shooting Times
SUK: Welcome on board Patrick. So tell us, where are you from in Scotland? PG: I was brought up in Edinburgh and learned to shoot during summer holidays in Dumfriesshire. I started my shooting career, as so many people do, going out after bunnies with an old BSA air rifle. I…
CLA seeks to strike new deal to end rural broadband divide
Landowners have pledged to work with fibre broadband providers to grant access to private land — in the hope of bringing an end to the rural digital divide. Slow internet speeds and patchy mobile coverage Rural areas are way behind in terms of the fastest broadband and best mobile phone coverage and this…
BBC bias against fieldsports could go unopposed
Changes to the BBC complaints procedure could lead to continued bias against fieldsports from its shows and presenters, say shooting groups. In the past year, the BBC has come under fire from the rural community several times. An October episode of Inside Out London presented a biased depiction of gamebird rearing that did not show best practice, presented…