Fowlers asked to heed duck call
Wildfowlers have been asked to contribute to a survey to determine how duck populations are changing.
BASC has put out a call to the wildfowling community to enable it to compile as much accurate data as possible to help safeguard the future of the sport. In particular, wildfowlers have been asked to provide duck wings to help determine population trends.
BASC is responsible for collecting information on the sex and age ratios of quarry species, which can reveal essential information about them.
The survey was relaunched in 2017 after a break of 16 years. It originally ran between 1972 and 2001, when it was stopped due to a funding shortage.
Heather Warrender, BASC’s science officer, said: “The wing survey provides a hugely valuable source of data to monitor our quarry species more closely than ever before. It can show that we hunt sustainably and allows us to be the first to see significant changes in demographics. The more wings submitted, the stronger our position.”
James Green, BASC’s head of wildfowling, said: “No matter the contribution, please don’t underestimate the importance of the duck wing survey in the future. After only three years, correlations are developing that will help us inform and lead the debate.”