Game shooting
SHOOTING TIMES & COUNTRY MAGAZINE • 29
DrAvery,hadarguedforanoutright
banonshooting.Thanks,however,
tothepersonalinterventionof
KingCharlesIII,andtheissuingofa
numberofundeservedknighthoods,
wild-birdshootswerepermittedto
continue.Thesewere,andremain
to be, strictly licensed using the
same system that had fi rst been
applied to grouse shooting in 2029.
Grouse shooting,
now there was a
t h i ng. O bv iou sly,
that all ended when
the grouse became
extinct, due to the
reintroduction
of wolves.
The wolves
didn’t actually kill
the grouse; that
was caused by the
destruction of nests
from the trampling feet
of the aurochs, which
were released to feed the
wolves. The wolves proved
somewhat problematic and have
since been removed. Their fate was
sealed after the savage and bloody
events that marred the Ramblers’
(once the Ramblers’ Association)
centenary celebration walk over East
Allenheads. Wolves are now only
to be seen in the large fenced safari
parks sited in Sutherland, Islay and
Richmond Park.
On a positive note, the unforeseen
population boom in aurochs has led
to a rise in popularity for stalking
them. Though also strictly licensed,
the sport attracts much-needed
income to the uplands of Britain
and Scotland from visiting foreign
sportsmen. The outlandish costofa dayonthehillafter aurochs
precludesmostBritish residents from
participating;notto mention the 73-
pagelicenceapplication form, which
mustbecompleted in triplicate.Statearmoury
Deerstalking remains a popular sport,
despite the somewhat challenging
application process for a licence to
shoot deer. All stalkers must complete
the Defra-run DSC1, 2, 3, 4 and 5. Then
they must undertake a three-year
apprenticeship under the tutelage of
a state-approved deer management
offi cer. Only after this can you sign
out a deer rifl e from your local
state armoury; individual fi rearm
ownership is banned. Private shotgun
ownership is still legal, but they too
must be housed in the state armoury.
Some 20 years ago, the British
deer population reached pestilential
levels. The public became immune to
the near daily accounts of dogs being
gored in suburban parks by feral
Chinese water deer. Muntjac browsing
caused the extinction of the British
bluebell. Herds of thousands of fallow
became such a problem to agriculture
in the mid-2040s that bread and beer
were rationed.
This caused a three-day week,
a downturn in productivity, stock
market crash and inevitable riots. And
it led to the ousting of Prime Minister
Lucas and her Green Government,
ushering in the new chap, Septimus
Rees-Mogg, who remains our PM after
a record six terms.
Due to my advancing age, I gave
up wildfowling in 2059, aged 88. It
wasn’t so much the arthritic pains
that stopped my marshland forays as
the lack of shootable species. Theshooting accompanied by a loader
became the norm.
Looking back through my game
book for 2032, I note that I shot a bag
of 43, for 201 cartridges. It only cost
me one kidney, which back then was
considered cheap. Obviously, the
general licence was scrapped in 2033.
This was replaced by a “simplifi ed
system”. Now you have to apply for
a licence on a species-by-species basis
for each day on which you may want
to shoot or trap. Licences are only
valid in December, bar Yule day —
Christmas was banned due to its lack
of inclusivity in 2026. Each licence
costs £300, and has a waiting time
post-application of approximately
two months, except in Essex, where
it is three years.
Game shooting, of course, became
really expensive after Prime Minister
Lucas banned the release of game
birds in 2035. Her minister for
rewilding and the environment,
Payment for shooting with major organs became the norm in the 2030s