Study into shooting sports and well-being
Is going game shooting good for you? Philip Bowern reads university research that asked the question
GREAT emphasis is put on robust mental health today, especially in rural settings where loneliness and other pressures can have a disproportionate impact on individuals. Against that background and following growing interest in shooting sports, including from those opposed to live quarry shooting, the University of Nottingham carried out research entitled: “Understanding the social impact of participation in Driven Game Shooting in the UK.”
The researcher, Dr Tracey LathamGreen, who had never previously been involved in any form of game shooting, field sports or activities opposed to these pastimes, completed the PhD study between 2017 and 2020. It was published late last month. One of the drivers for the research was a decision taken in Wales to effectively ban driven game shooting on land over which the Welsh Assembly had control, sparking a legal challenge and attempts to quantify the value versus the negative costs of driven game shooting.
In her synopsis, Dr Latham-Green writes: “This study considered how involvement in driven game shooting (DGS) affects the people participating, not just ‘shooting guns’, but also beaters, pickers-up and others, using a recognised social impact assessment methodology with a theoretical underpinning of social capital theory.
“It considered the extent to which DGS creates social impact through the creation of social capital, which has been defined as “connections among individuals – social networks and the norms of reciprocity and trustworthiness that arise from them... and reinforcement of identity, whether this was affected by size and/or type of shoot and how these impacts can be valued in future.”
Rarely can a country sport have been subjected to such a rigorous scientific approach connected to how it makes those involved “feel” – and many people involved in shooting might scoff at such analysis being applied to the activity. One who was questioned told Dr Latham-Green: “I think it’s an endemic way of life. If you’ve grown up with it, it’s part of your DNA.”
‘Membership of a game shooting syndicate enhances mental well-being’ DR TRACEY LATHAM-GREEN
She found that, based on a measure widely used to calculate an individual’s state of mind, participants in game shooting found the activity had a positive effect, compared to data recorded nationally.
In other words, people who take part in shooting, whether as a gun, beater or picker-up, show more positive mental health and well-being.
Dr Latham-Green reports: “This positive impact, facilitated by social support networks created within DGS, is influenced strongly by identity. Regular participation in physical activity, time spent outdoors, a sense of purpose and reduced loneliness appear to be contributing factors to this positive impact.
“Syndicate membership, in particular, enhances the mental well-being benefits. The study confirms that the financial value of these social impacts is potentially significant, as savings to the taxpayer in avoiding poor mental health and maintaining physical health can be very high.
“It is estimated that poor mental health costs the UK £105 billion per annum, when the various social and economic factors are taken into account (Department of Health Independent Mental Health Taskforce, 2016) and the overall costs of loneliness for each individual person can be £6,000 over ten years (McDaid, Bauer and Park, 2017).
“Physical inactivity and obesity can lead to long-term conditions such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease (Leong and Wilding, 1999), which are costly to manage in the NHS.
“A 2014 study indicated that obesity had a burden of around £47 billion a year on society (circa 3% of GDP), making it the greatest impact after smoking (Dobbs et al., 2014), which is more than the annual cost of armed violence, war and terrorism (Press Association, 2014).”
Dr Latham-Green points out that her study did not take a position on the moral questions around shooting live quarry, nor of the environmental impacts, which are currently the subject of a legal challenge from BBC presenter Chris Packham and anti-shooting colleagues.
She writes: “There are individuals and organisations who believe that the killing of any animal for sport is wrong,” citing the RSPCA and the League Against Cruel Sports. She goes on: “This study did not set out to take a ‘position’ on the rights or wrongs of driven game shooting. It sought to identify some of the impacts on the c. 1.5 million people that take part.”
Already, however, shooting organisations are quoting from the report. Dr Latham-Green makes it clear the study had no outside sponsorship but was paid for by the university.