With all the news about new rules for trapping stoats, and changes to general licences for corvid control, it’s easy to forget that there are other predators out there that we need to address – like the American mink Why we need to control mink When we think about mink…
GWCT
Shooting groups defend progress on lead transition
Non-toxic shot progress Shooting organisations have defended the progress of the five-year transition away from the use of lead and single-use plastics in shotgun ammunition. The plan to make shooting more sustainable and to head off Government regulation has come under attack for not making enough progress after a study…
Why funding the GWCT is vital
Scientists are riding to the rescue of humankind. The UK’s scientific community is playing a globally recognised role in developing vaccines to combat the pandemic. Public and private money is being poured into research and manufacturing facilities. So why are we in the shooting community leaving the GWCT short of…
Big Farmland Bird Count back for 2021
Gamekeepers, farmers and land managers across the country are being asked to pledge their support to the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT) Big Farmland Bird Count. The GWCT is asking you to spend 30 minutes spotting species on a patch of land between the 5 and 21 February 2021…
Conservation projects to carry out during lockdown
If you are involved in shoot management in any way, do consider the following. Is there still a decent shrub layer, or has canopy closure started to starve out the sunlight that is so essential to woodland floor habitat? Aside from a few very early starters such as ravens and…
How we can help nurture our wonderful woodcock
Woodcock have a reputation of being unpredictable in their movements, here today and gone tomorrow. So you could be forgiven for feeling that whether or not you shoot them makes little difference to numbers in the long-term. To the Victorian sportsman, a ‘fall’ was not to be missed. If the…
Pheasant releases ‘could wipe out adders in most of Britain’
A recent article in The Guardian stating that adders are endangered due to “uncontrolled release of millions of game birds” is incorrect say the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT) and the National Gamekeepers Organisation (NGO). The piece highlights the claim of Nigel Hand, a trustee of Amphibian and Reptile…
GWCT launches 12 gamebird management principles
Responsible shooters should always support conservation and the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT) has now published 12 clear principles for sustainable gamebird management. Extensive research by the GWCT shows that good game management will deliver a net biodiversity gain, a goal for all shoots. “Biodiversity net gain is embedded…
New Natural History GCSE to help young understand natural world
Cambridge Assessment has confirmed that its UK exam board OCR is developing a new GCSE in Natural History, following a consultation open to all parties. The idea was proposed by conservationist Mary Colwell, who wants “to make nature part of British society again”. She was concerned that young people were…
LACS report slammed by shooting groups
The publication of Calculating Cruelty by the League Against Cruel Sports (LACS) has been blasted by shooting groups, who criticise it for inaccuracy, misreporting and unsound science. The report was timed to coincide with the start of the grouse shooting season. LACS claims that an “independent surveyor” was appointed to…
The man-made idyll of grouse moors
Coming from the soft south, I didn’t see a live grouse until I was 19. That was in the summer of 1974, when I took off to the Cairngorms for a couple of weeks to go youth hostelling with a friend. There were new sights around every corner, with dotterel,…
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…
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…
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…
GWCT calls for vital funds to continue essential work
A letter to members of the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT) from chief executive Teresa Dent CBE, has illustrated the extent of financial support urgently needed by the Trust. In spring the charity was forced to cancel its fund raising events and lost its paid work due to the…
Revive report finds against Scotland’s grouse moors
Revive was launched in November 2018 with the aim of “working for grouse moor reform in Scotland.” The coalition’s new report entitled: “A Better Way: How an alternative to grouse moors could help tackle climate change, increase biodiversity and benefit Scotland’s people” concludes that grouse moors have caused significant ecological damage…
The results of this year’s Savills Game and Conservation Benchmarking survey may surprise you
So how have driven game shoots performed through the 2018/19 season? Is it good news for shooting? Savills and the GWCT collected data from 88 UK shoots and this is what they discovered. Game and Conservation Survey 2019 Facts and figures Over 1800 days were shot, more than a million…
Test your shooting knowledge and WIN!
In association with Shooting Times, the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT) is running a monthly competition to win a GWCT apron. So you can cook those game recipes in style and show off your mastery of shooting and rural matters at the same time. You’ll find the quiz every…
Numbers point to a record year for Big Farmland Bird Count
The Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT), which organises the Big Farmland Bird Count, said the results were dropping in every five minutes. Jim Egan of the GWCT said: “We look like having a record year in terms of the number of counts returned. I can say that, so far, 127…
How to create an ideal habitat for snipe to thrive
Growing up in Surrey, snipe were rarely on my horizon. The heaths are mostly too dry for them and the arable farmlands were the wrong habitat. Clandon Park, where I learned the beater’s trade, rarely held one either. Even the Medway saltings, where my father initiated me as a wildfowler,…