Nick Ridley fears for the future
Nick Ridley is looking forward to the season ahead but worries what the future will hold for shooting and whether it will survive
Iassume that I am not the only one getting a tad excited about the forthcoming season.
I already have the dates through for a couple of my regular shoots and I have booked a few rough shooting trips for the Circle of Trust. On a less positive note, I have heard of a number of shoots that have pulled the plug, sadly, including one I helped out at last season. It was a tough one for all concerned in the shooting community.
Though most people I speak to are sounding positive there is undoubtedly a concern that our shooting days are numbered. I was talking to a lifelong shooting man who expressed a fear that his grandchildren would not be able to enjoy his way of life. I voiced my own concern that I could see the demise of shooting in my lifetime. I am now 60.
It would be a crying shame but we are under pressure from all directions. The phasing out of lead shot will undoubtedly be accelerated by the game dealers not taking any lead shot game from 2022 and this will change the way we shoot, especially the high-bird concerns.
Ballistics
I am not an expert in ballistics but, from what I understand, my little side-by-side may be spending more time in the gun cabinet. The one advantage from this particular change is that the pet food market may be able to incorporate shot game into its products. There is no reliable way to remove lead shot so there is understandably a reluctance to offer dog food that contains lead, with the potential to cause health issues.
If we do end up having to use steel, it can be removed either by centrifugal machines or magnets. I wouldn’t be surprised if we see an increase in game-based dog and cat foods hitting the market late next year.
It also looks like there will be an increase in smaller days and walked-up shooting being offered. I know of an estate that would normally sell big bird driven days planning to sell only walked-up shooting this season and it has been inundated with enquiries. This is for a number of reasons, least not the cost factor; like many shoots the estate had a number of birds left on the ground after the lockdowns last season and has decide to look after these birds in an effort to hold them within the ground and avoid the expense of releasing more birds.
Ex-layers are in great demand as shoots want to top up their existing stock rather than take the risk of buying in poults and having to endure another lockdown. Caution seems to be the watchword.
“There is undoubtedly a concern that our shooting days are numbered”
Another interesting development I have noticed is a number of respected gundog trainers are offering agility training. One I spoke to has included agility into their business model, not only as an additional income earner but also as a precaution in the event of the demise of game shooting — albeit on the distant horizon — they would need to transfer their training skills and business direction as the need for gundogs would decline. This is a depressing thought and one I prefer not to dwell on. Hopefully it won’t happen but the fact that people are thinking about their future in training gundogs does throw things into focus.
Positives
All that said, there is plenty of positivity around. People are looking forward to meeting on the beaters’ wagon again and there are going to be lots of novice gundogs having their first sight and sound of the shooting field. Many handlers and their new dogs will have missed out on last season but that may not be such a bad thing. The dogs will now be a bit older and more mature and more time would have been spent on their training. I know plenty of gamekeepers who are breaking their necks to get back to some proper keepering work. A local keeper told me his cover crops are being sown right now and he said he hasn’t been looking forward to a season so much for many years.
Perhaps the enforced break did us all some good and for many it really hit home how much we would miss our way of life should shooting go the way of so many rural pastimes.