November 07, 2024
Rural residents are being urged to take part in the 2024 National Rural Crime Survey. The aim is to gather crucial data that can be used to shape future policy and raise awareness of the unique challenges in rural areas. The survey, run by the Countryside Alliance, offers farmers, landowners, rural business owners and residents…
November 07, 2024
Shooting has been omitted from the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. It is the second successive games not to include shooting after Birmingham also pulled the events in 2022. Organisers in Glasgow unveiled the 10 sports in a slimmed-down games, having stepped in to host them after the Australian state of Victoria pulled out. The…
November 07, 2024
A labrador trained to trace invasive ferrets on Rathlin Island, Northern Ireland, is being retrained to track rats as part of an effort to save the puffin population. Woody, the two-year-old dog, was first used to sniff out ferrets as part of LIFE Raft Project in the spring (News, 22 May). Following the removal of…
November 07, 2024
The UK’s environment watchdog has closed another of its three investigations into Northern Ireland’s Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA). The Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) had already found that DAERA had failed comply with environmental law because it had missed the July 2023 statutory deadline for publishing an Environmental Improvement Plan (EIP)….
November 07, 2024
A gamekeeper suffered numerous broken bones after being run over by armed trespassers. Paul Ashton, headkeeper on the Linkenholt Estate north of Andover in Hampshire, spotted the potential poachers who were armed with catapults. Concerned for the welfare of wildlife on the estate, he challenged them. This resulted in Mr Ashton allegedly being run over…
November 06, 2024
Growing up in sodden Galloway, both wellies and waders were a staple of everyday sporting life. I once met a soldier who had been on a military exercise in Galloway. He said it was so wet that he felt certain the water must run uphill, and used the word “bogging” to describe the whole county….
November 06, 2024
Some top-venting, blank-firing pistols are too easily convertible into prohibited handguns capable of firing live ammunition, and have therefore been deemed illegal. The Home Office made the decision under the Firearms Act 1982, which stipulates that imitation or blank-firing firearms may only be held without a licence if they are not readily convertible into live-firing…
November 06, 2024
The Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) for Warwickshire has been forced to deny accepting money from the Countryside Alliance over the controversial issue of trail-hunting. Matt Western, Labour MP for Warwick and Leamington, made the claims about Conservative PCC Philip Seccombe in the House of Commons under parliamentary privilege — legal immunity enjoyed by MPs….
November 06, 2024
The previous government made legally binding commitments to address biodiversity loss. Key to this is the creation of more wildlife-rich places and one of the ways this is being supported by the Labour Government is through the creation of 48 local nature recovery strategies. The purpose is to identify locations to create or improve habitat…
November 04, 2024
Members of the public can support the awareness week by reading the Alliance’s top tips on dog security and by sharing this information with family and friends. The tips and advice for keeping your dog safe are available on the Countryside Alliance website. The advice on how to protect your dog covers scenarios such as…
Sponsored by Skinner's, this week's dog of the week is Freddie. Having celebrated his first brithday in June, Freddie is living his best life on a grouse moor in the Angus Glens. A friendly, slightly crazy, but very loved boy, he will make his debut on the shooting field this season. For your dog to be included, email ollie.harvey@twsgroup.com a picture and tell us all about them. Featured dogs receive a 15kg bag of food, via Skinner’s.