Game Fair hopes for silver lining

By Colin Donald

FOLLOWING l ast year’s wash- o u t , organisers preparing for next weekend’s Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust ( GWCT) Scottish Game Fair hope the 25th anniversary of the event, at Scone Palace, will exceed the record of 36,000 visitors over the three-day event.

Hugo Straker, chairman of the GWCT, said that organisers were “praying on our knees” for good weather after the last-minute cancellation in 2012 due to a “biblical” downpour.

Scotland’s biggest countryside event outwith the Royal Highland Show puts the spotlight on the £240 milliona-year field sports sector, including stalls with stalking, fishing and shooting equipment and clothing, as well as presenting Scotland’s “natural larder” in the food tent. There is also a demonstration and competition programme, including clay pigeon shooting, gun dog demonstrations, falconry and fly fishing, making good use of the fair’s 100-acre site, incorporating the banks of the River Tay.

Straker said: “Setting it up on a greenfield site is in itself is a huge undertaking that takes a year to plan and three days to build. Local hotels, pubs, and ironmongers thrive as the 300 exhibitors all have to be serviced.

“As well as being a great family day out, we want people to be inspired and informed about why the countryside is managed as it is. People often fail to understand the intricacies of countryside management and how it has moulded the landscape of Scotland for generations, also the wealth of game that stimulates this.

“People who don’t live in the countryside need to be informed why gamekeepers are employed to do what they do.”

Perth & Kinross Council has estimated that the off- site income generated by the Game Fair is more than £ 1.18m, including overnight stays by visitors and exhibitors.

Environment and Climate Change Minister Paul Wheelhouse MSP said: