July 24, 2024
We wrote last year about the sad decline of Hunter wellies. The offshore production of the boots, and subsequent tumble in quality, resulted in traditional customer bases fleeing the rising flood of shoddy production and seeking refuge on the higher, drier ground across the Channel with Le Chameau and Aigle. It’s increasingly common these days…
July 24, 2024
Not every child we introduce to shooting will take up the activity now or in later life. However, that memory will linger long, and many of the young people we teach will carry forward a positive understanding of the role of shooting in land and wildlife management in their formative years. And for some, that…
July 24, 2024
Security minister Dan Jarvis says the Government will move “at pace” to review the law on crossbow ownership, after three women were killed in a crossbow attack in Hertfordshire on 9 July. The victims of the brutal attack were BBC racing commentator John Hunt’s wife Carol, 61, and two of their daughters — Hannah, 28,…
July 24, 2024
The RSPB has been accused of “chasing grant money” to do its job, in collusion with Natural Resources Wales (NRW). Campaign for the Protection of Moorland Communities (C4PMC), a group dedicated to protecting moorland communities and driven grouse shooting, has alleged that the RSPB, a charity with a turnover of £165 million, understands the steps…
July 24, 2024
Two men have been sentenced for using dogs to illegally hunt deer and hares. Derbyshire Police arrested Raphael Stone and Dominic Parker after they were spotted with two dogs off leads in fields in Morley in April. The pair pleaded guilty to hunting a wild mammal with dogs, and trespass with intent to search for…
July 24, 2024
A video of a badger scaling a predator fence has sparked criticism of the RSPB. The film, which shows a badger easily climbing an overhanging 8ft fence topped with rolls of razor wire, has drawn outrage from the Campaign for the Protection of Moorland Communities (C4PMC), a group dedicated to protecting moorland communities and driven…
July 24, 2024
A Channel 5 documentary, Our Great Yorkshire Life, has shown the vital contribution that heather burning makes to Yorkshire’s moorland landscapes Ian Sleightholme, headkeeper at the Bolton Estate in the Wensleydale Valley, explains to viewers how heather burning is done and how it creates a patchwork quilt of regenerating moorland. He demonstrates a cool burn…
July 24, 2024
Farm unions in Wales are demanding a major overhaul of the proposed Sustainable Farming Scheme (SFS), following publication of the Welsh government’s response to the consultation it ran earlier this year. According to an independent analysis of responses received from more than 12,000 people — of which 72% were farmers — opposition to the plans…
July 24, 2024
A new conservation award for wild salmon has been launched in Scotland, as the species faces unprecedented challenges around the globe. The Scottish Gamekeepers Association (SGA) Fishing Group has launched the SGA Wild Salmon Conservation Award after Atlantic salmon were classified as endangered in the UK last winter (News, 10 January). The trophy will be…
July 17, 2024
I cast an eye around with the thermal over the edge of the barley and across the grass strip at the edge of the field but there was still no sign of a fox. An hour or more had passed and the legs of my jeans, wet from the dew-soaked wheat tramline I’d walked along,…
Sponsored by Skinner's, this week's dog of the week is Milo and Maggie. Seven-year-old Milo is proud of his daughter Maggie, who has started picking-up at the age of two. As well as being working gundogs and cherished pets, both act as wellbeing dogs for Sussex Police. For your dog to be included, email [email protected] a picture and tell us all about them. Featured dogs receive a 15kg bag of food, via Skinner’s.