New group to promote shooting
Amalgamation of organisations looks to protect country sports and wildlife habitats
The farming column and Country Matters articles are written by Andrew Davis, who welcomes suggested topics for coverage. He can be contacted on (01635) 564526, or email editor@ newburynews.co.uk
AFTER cancellation last year due to the pandemic, the Game Fair returned to Ragley Hall, near Stratford-upon-Avon, from July 23-25.
Although no longer run by the CLA, much remains the same, although there are also significant differences.
One throwback to the old days was the traffic. On the Friday, the last four miles took me 80 minutes.
The crowds were large, celebrating country sports again after months of lockdown.
One report suggested that the attendance was the highest ever for the first day of a Game Fair.
It has been a very important few weeks for game shooting. On July 15, I was invited to a Sustainable Ammunition Day at the Holland and Holland Shooting Grounds.
Most cartridge manufacturers were there, promoting their steel-shot cartridges, some with biodegradable wads.
Although it is a challenge, there should be adequate supplies for the transition from lead, at least for 12 and 20 gauges.
The big news at the Game Fair was the announcement of a new partnership of shooting organisations.
It is called Aim to Sustain, with the strapline of Protect, Preserve, Promote.
The Mission Statement is: “We work to promote and protect game shooting and associated wildlife habitats in the UK.
“We support sustainable and responsible shooting, environmental balance, animal welfare, local communities and the rural way of life.”
There are nine members of the partnership: The Moorland Association, The British Game Alliance, BASC, the Countryside Alliance, the National Gamekeepers Organisation, Scottish Land and Estates, the CLA, the Game Farmers Association and the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust.
Strictly speaking, the GWCT is not a full member because it is a charity and cannot get involved in political lobbying, but it will act as scientific adviser.
Successful lobbying depends both on numbers at the table, but also the strength and unity of the message.
Those wishing to restrict or ban shooting are better organised and adept at exploiting social media.
Shooting is under threat as never before and the community needs to promote more effectively the benefits to wider wildlife of the conservation practices of gamekeepers and shoot managers.
It also needs to show that it is capable of self-regulation, to conduct its activities to the highest possible standard, before regulation is forced upon it.
The shooting organisations have worked together for some years in the guise of the Shoot Liaison Committee and Aim to Sustain is a logical and more public-facing extension.
It needs to counter the negative claims and demonstrate the huge environmental gains that a well-run shooting estate brings.
That leads on to another current initiative. We have remarkably little data about the number of shoots, the number of birds released and the wildlife found on shooting estates.
MeritCheck is a suite of apps, mostly involved with farming and the countryside, that can be used to record data.
The most relevant is MeritNatureCheck which can be used by gamekeepers and conservationists to record wildlife sightings and other information.
If large numbers used the app, it would be far easier to prove the benefits of game management.
The third promotion at the Game Fair was from Agri.cycle.
A company that specialises in recycling agricultural waste, especially plastics, it can recycle spent shotgun cartridges.
There are thought to be around 220 million cartridges each year so this service is invaluable.
Also launched at the Game Fair was the Ineos Grenadier vehicle, aimed at the farm, estate and shoot market.
Many people were dismayed when Land Rover announced that the Defender would no longer be built and the Grenadier looks similar.
However, it is technically advanced designed specifically as a country workhorse.
It will not be available until next year and the price is likely to be in the £40,000 to £50,000 range.
The main change to the Game Fair since the CLA days is the lack of hospitality.
There was a time when many firms of land agents and others had large stands offering Pimm’s and canapés, places to meet friends, sit and relax.
The CLA Members’ Enclosure was also a central meeting point and, although there is a main ring enclosure, it is expensive to enter and thus does not fulfil the same function.
The Game Fair is still an important date in the calendar and above all, it provides a national focus for country sports, an opportunity to network, to shop or just a grand day out.
We could all do with those after the last 18 months.