Shooting Gazette – September 2019

10 SEPTEMBER 2019 WWW.SHOOTINGGAZETTE.CO.UK

SHOOT BRIEFING News

NEWS UPDATE

BASChassaidit is“readytofight”a legal

challengetorearingandreleasinggame

birdsmadebyWildJusticeinJuly.

WildJusticeannouncedthatit had

writtentoDEFRAchallengingtherelease

ofpheasantsandpartridges,claimingit

conflictedwiththerequirements laid down in

theHabitatsDirective.

Initsresponsetotheannouncement,

BASCsaidit believestheWildJusticecase

is “weak,misinterpretsEuropeanlawand

ignoresthebenefitsofshootingtothe

environment”.BASCannouncedit has

instructedlawyerstoregistertheassociation

asan‘interestedparty’toopposetheclaim

shouldanylegalactionresult.MPsandPeers

supportive of shooting have been briefed.

“Thisisanotherextremistattackon

shootingbythoseassociatedwiththe

LeagueAgainstCruelSportsthatignoresthe

well-documentedevidenceofthebenefits

ofshootingtoconservationandthewider

environment,”saidCarolineBedell,BASC’s

executivedirectorofconservation.

“TheCodeofGoodShootingPractice,

whichsetsouttheframeworkfor

sustainableshooting,includesreferenceto

GWCTresearchwhichsetsoutfiguresfor

sustainablegamebirdreleasing that do not

damagetheenvironment.

“Studiesshowthatwell-managed

shootingisofbenefittotheenvironment

andconservationorganisationsandthe

government have acknowledged the benefit

Wild Justice returns with legal

challenge to game farming

ALAMY

ofshootingtotheenvironment.Forexample,

shootsmaintain25,000hectaresofcover

crops,whichprovideimportantsourcesof

foodandshelterforsongbirds,particularly

duringthewinter,andshootsactively

manage500,000hectaresofwoodlandand

100,000hectaresofcopses for the benefit of

theenvironment.

“Shootinginfluences14mhectaresofrural

landmanagementandalmost2mhectares

areactivelymanagedforconservation.It is

estimatedthatshootingprovidesfor3.9m

workdaysbeingspentonconservation

eachyear,whichistheequivalentof16,

full-timeconservationjobs.Withoutdriven

shootingtheruralenvironment,andour

economy, would be significantly poorer.”

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Award-winningOxfordBluepubinOld

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veteranTomEvansofTheRoyalHorse

Guards(TheBlues)– hasrelaunchedwith

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collaboration between the kitchen, led by

chefpatronStevenEllisandPeterClayton,

gamekeeperatWindsorGreatPark.

NewdishesincludeWildPigeonScotch

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Formoreinformation,call01753 331073

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