Shooting Times & Country Magazine
Police prevent potential disaster at celebrity’s shoot
The hunt saboteur who was found “in possession of a bladed article” at Lord Botham’s grouse shooting day remains under investigation
Police prevented potential disaster after a saboteur from a group praised by MPS and anti-shooting campaigners was arrested for possession of a knife.
As previously reported by Shooting Times, hunt saboteurs disrupted a series of grouse shoots across the North of England on and around 12 August. Among the shoot days disrupted was a shoot in the Peak District, where former England cricketer and keen game Shot Lord Botham was enjoying a day. The saboteurs were keen to use Botham’s profile to attract attention to their trespassing and tweets featuring images of the cricketer heading off the moors were shared on social media.
Among those sharing the news with approving comments were actor Peter Egan, TV presenter Chris Packham and former Labour MP Chris Williamson. Since losing his seat in 2019, Mr Williamson is “now focusing on building a grassroots, anti-imperialist, working-class movement”. He was particularly fulsome in his praise, saying they had done “great work” and describing the Glorious Twelfth as “when wealthy toffs and flunkies like
Ian Botham get some perverted pleasure from killing and maiming wildlife”.
However, it has subsequently emerged that a member of one of the saboteur teams was arrested for possession of a ‘bladed article’ believed to be a knife. A regular hunt follower with experience of hunt saboteurs told Shooting Times: “My experience is just of them shouting and spitting. The idea of a hunt saboteur with a knife is extremely disturbing.”
In response to an enquiry from Shooting Times, South Yorkshire Police issued the following statement: “Officers were called shortly before 9.30am on Tuesday, 16 August to reports of a protest near to Winscar Reservoir in Barnsley. Vehicles were stopped from leaving the location for a period of time. The protest group later dispersed.
“A man in his fifties was arrested for possession of a bladed article. He remains under investigation.”
Detailed investigations by Shooting Times have been unable to assess exactly how many shoots were sabotaged during the opening week. This is due to the tendency of multiple hunt saboteur groups to report the same actions, often with vague or confusing details about the shoot location. However, it seems five or six shoots were disrupted successfully in that first week.
“The idea of a hunt saboteur with a knife is very disturbing”
A proposal to ban the import of hunting trophies will be dealt with as a private members’ bill, not as government business, significantly reducing its chances of success.
Following the failure of the Hunting Trophy Import (Prohibition) Bill, a new bill called the Hunting Trophies (Import Prohibition) Bill was brought forward in June this year by Conservative MP Henry Smith.
The bill has failed to be adopted as government business and will now face a much more difficult route through Parliament.
The procedure around private members’ bills is complex. However, they are allocated little time and relatively few opportunities for debate. Generally, they are blocked easily if there is determined opposition to them. Many bills are simply ‘talked out’ by MPS who speak for long enough to prevent a vote taking place.
More than one million acres of southern Africa is managed for hunting. Experts have warned that the bill places this area under threat from poaching and intensive agriculture.
No one enjoys sitting at a computer ticking boxes, but the Value of Shooting Survey, which is supported by all the shooting and countryside organisations, is a vital tool for capturing evidence about the importance of shooting, and it will help make the case for our sport.
Find and complete it here at valueofshooting.co.uk
Any soldier will tell you that “time spent in reconnaissance is seldom wasted”. As the goose season approaches, this is particularly true for inland goose shooters. Observing where geese congregate and which routes they take provides vital information for successfully planning outings. Spending some time with your binoculars now will make the time you spend later with your gun more fruitful.