Aim to Sustain: a new champion for shooting

The Countryside Alliance, BASC, British Game Alliance, CLA, Game Farmers’ Association, Moorland Association, National Gamekeepers’ Organisation (NGO) and Scottish Land & Estates, with the GWCT acting as advisers, have joined forces to form Aim to Sustain, a partnership that sets out to promote the role sustainable shooting plays in boosting biodiversity, protecting the countryside and supporting rural communities.

At the launch, which took place at The Game Fair, Nick Herbert, chairman of the Countryside Alliance, likened the initiative to a “NATO for the countryside, a signal to the opposition that we are ready to make the case robustly for our world”.

The nine partner organisations are no strangers to working together. Many were already part of the Shoot Liaison Committee, an informal group that has helped protect and grow the sport over the years. This relationship has intensified in the wake of the 2019 General Licences fiasco and subsequent judicial reviews and legal challenges, which the partners teamed up to fight, and the pandemic restrictions, from which they secured an exemption.

However, it was through this closer collaboration that they realised a more formal structure was needed. “Occasionally, there needs to be one voice speaking on behalf of all the organisations that have an interest in game shooting,” the partners explained in a Q&A document. “An outward-facing partnership provides the mechanism for this to happen.”

However, they ruled out a merger: “While all the organisations in Aim to Sustain have an interest in shooting, not all of them are shooting organisations. The partnership creates a much broader alliance than would be possible by merging shooting organisations alone.”

For Countryside Alliance CEO Tim Bonner, “by moving closer together into a formal partnership we can achieve even more and secure greater recognition of the great benefits that come from game management and shooting.”

His views are echoed by BASC’S CEO, Ian Bell, who says: “Each individual organisation’s input will add to the strength of the partnership. By combining expertise and coordinating activities, the partnership is an exciting opportunity to highlight the massive contribution that is made to sustainability through game management and shooting.”

The new partnership will focus on three prongs: advocacy, highlighting the benefits of game shooting for the countryside and countering misinformation; science and research, which will provide evidence of the positive effect game management has on the environment, as well as supplying shoots with crucial information to support their sustainability efforts; and self-regulation, which builds on the

Code of Good Shooting Practice and the qualifications offered by BASC, GWCT and the NGO to ensure responsible Guns can shoot “on assured premises managed by fit and proper people”.

Lending its expertise to the endeavour is the GWCT: “Carefully coordinating the colossal effort that goes into game management is a very welcome and exciting commitment,” notes chief executive Teresa Dent. “The fact that a thriving shoot has the opportunity to be a wildlife haven is well understood, but this partnership can help ensure that this net gain for biodiversity is maximised.”

Initially, Aim to Sustain will be chaired jointly by the chairs of BASC and the Countryside Alliance, although it may appoint an independent chair at a later stage. The board is also looking for chairs for individual committees, ranging from standards to research and politics.

The Field has previously called for a coalition of organisations that could vigorously defend shooting, represent the sport and champion self-regulation [Comment, March issue]. Editor Alexandra Henton believes the new partnership will fit the bill: “The launch of Aim to Sustain is most encouraging. The ability to work together is critical to the survival of not only the fieldsports that we love but also the conservation and long-term future of the countryside. We need a coherent, single voice on key issues that will represent the sporting world and encourage not the knee-jerk reaction that shooting can invoke in hardened opponents, but an understanding of the crucial role we play in the maintenance, biodiversity and sustainability of the rural world.

This joined-up approach has long been wanted by many, and now we have an organisation that will ensure this message is represented robustly. We must look to the next steps ahead and ensure the momentum continues.”

Aim to Sustain has started a 10-week consultation, asking members of the signatory organisations to have their say on the strategies through which the partnership can achieve its means. “The launch was a signal of intent for what the partner organisations want Aim to Sustain to achieve,” says Garry Doolan of BASC. “But we also want the shooting public to give us their opinions.”

For further details or to take part in the consultation, visit aimtosustain.org.uk

We need a coherent single voice on key issues