BASC criticises Welsh minister over public land ruling

BASC has criticised the Welsh environment minister Hannah Blythyn AM’S response to those who contacted her regarding Natural Resources Wales (NRW) decision to ban pheasant shooting on all public land.

Rather than replying to the many thousands of individual letters that BASC helped direct to the minister, she instead wrote to the association directly as ‘campaign organiser’.

BASC Wales director Steve Griffiths said the minister’s decision not to reply individually was “not good enough” and her claim in the letter that NRW’S decision would have a minimal impact on the “wider shooting industry” in Wales was “ill-informed”.

He said: “As an elected minister, Hannah Blythyn should reply to people who have taken the time to make their views known to her. She claims there will be minimal impact but try telling that to the people whose livelihoods will be affected.

“There is a wider picture to look at here, also. We urged our members to speak up on this issue, not just in support of shooting but also the democratic process. We are concerned that the way in which the environment minister has appeared to ride roughshod over a legitimate, evidencegathering review is direct contravention of the principles of better regulation which govern public bodies and sets an alarming precedent for the future of evidence-based consultation in Wales and the wider UK.”