Shooting Gazette – September 2019

14 SEPTEMBER 2019 WWW.SHOOTINGGAZETTE.CO.UK

Togetherstronger

IntherunuptoournewPM

beingchosenI receivedan

emailfromtheCountryside

Alliance(CA).Theemail

providedanopportunity

tocontributetoanonline

survey,thecollective

resultsofwhichwould

providea summaryofall

currentruralissues.The

CAplannedonpresenting

thefindingsofthissurvey

tothecandidates,“to

informdebateaboutwho

shouldbeBritain’snext

PrimeMinister”.I fully

supporttheCAandbelieve

wholeheartedlythatthe

ruralcommunity,oursports,

passions,countryside,

cultureandwayoflife

areinneedofprotecting,

nowmorethanever,aswe

endurethisroller-coaster

ofmelodramaticliberal

reaction-ismthatshapes

modern-dayBritishpolitics.

However,I didfindmyself

questioningthetimingof

thissurvey.DidtheCAfeel

confidentthatthenext

ConservativePMwillbe

leaderofa UKGovernment

longenoughtoputin

motionactionstoprotect

thecountryside,letalone

repealexistinglegislation

(theHuntingAct,for

example)?If theanswerto

thisisno,whychoosethis

asthetimetoraisesuch

issues?Whataboutcross-

party lobbying, or do we

thatmayhavebeenvisiting

forgenerations.Thishas

severeramificationsonthe

localcommunityandoverall

cultureofruralsociety.

Lastly,theNGOandCA

couldjoinforceswithother

broadereducationalgroups

andcharitiestolobbyfora

taxreliefschemetosupport

vocationalcoursesforthose

wishingtoworkinrural

careers–gamekeeping,

studwork,groundkeeping

etc.Careersthatoftenoffer

limitedfinancialprospects

butareessentialtothe

ruralenvironmentaswell

asupholdingthecultural

traditionsandwayoflife

withinthecountryside.

Thesearejusta fewideas

fromyouraveragecountry

ladwhocaresgreatlyfor

ourcountryside.I dohope

thisletterspursonfellow

readers,columnistsand

lobbyinggroupstotakethe

timetoengageandspeak

upatthiscriticaljuncture

inpolitics,insocietalbeliefs

andmostimportantlyinthe

futureoftheruralwayof

life,ourwayoflife.

G.Clifford-Newman,

by email

SPEAKUPFORSHOOTING^

BADGE WINNER

justignoretheproverbialstorm

thatiscomingfromtheLeft?

PerhapstheCAfeelsmore‘at

home’talkingtoitspalsonthe

Conservativebackbenchesthan

challengingthoseMPsthat

maybeaskingthehard-hitting

questions?Unfortunately,it is

thosefromacrossthathouse

thatwillrequirethemosteffort

fromtheCAandwhoarea

farcryfromtheConservative

leadershipdebate.Notto

mentionotherissuesthatseem

tostormaheadontheagenda

• Brexit,the‘housingcrisis’,
  theNHS...Itisa tallorderto
  presentourruralagendaina
  mannerthatmeansit willbe
  prioritisedinlightofallofthis.
  Ihaveoneideaforusall
  toconsider:theCA,BASC,
  NGO,CLAandthelikecould
  joinforcestopresenta rural
  chartercoveringallruralissues
  andtargetingallpolitical
  partiesina moresophisticated
  manner.Thischartercould
  beprioritisedina waythat
  protectsthecountrysideforthe
  long-term–ratherthanmerely
  counteringMrPackham’slatest
  rant.Indeed,byaddressingthe
  widertopicalissuesofrural
  Englandourlobbyinggroups
  canbuildstrategicalliances
  andinitiativescanbebuiltupon
  toplacea greateramountof
  pressureontheGovernment
  andoppositionparties.
  Forexample,protectingour
  greenbeltandAONBsfrom
  massexpansionofill-planned
  and unsympathetic housing

developmentsthatwould

damagetheruralenvironment,

wildlifeanditsculture.One

allyforthisissuecouldbe

theGreens,whoarecritical

ofnewhousingdevelopments

beingbuiltinopenfieldsaway

fromexistingtownsbecause

suchdevelopmentsarebased

aroundtheconceptofthecar.

Thiscouldunderpinsupportfor

brownfielddevelopments.

Amoreobviousexample

iscounteringtheriseinrural

oppressionthroughvandalism,

harassment,trespassand

bullyingagainstindividuals

andbusinesses,oftenbythose

claimingtobeanti-meateating,

anti-huntingand/oranti-

shooting.Thereneedstobe

fargreatprotectionhereand

all-partysupportwillbeneeded

onthis.Wherecivillawfails

toprotectruralcommunities,

criminallawshouldstep

forward.Forexample,wherea

personiscommittingtrespass

withtheintentiontoharass,

commitassault,intimidateor

causecriminaldamage,they

should,perhaps,besubject

tocriminalinvestigation

andpunishment.Thiswould

requireamendmentsto

legislation.Similarly,online

bullyingcampaignsagainst

ruralbusinessesthatsupport

shootingand/orhuntingare

oftentargeted–withrevenues

impacted.Thesevulnerable

businessesoftenhavelittle

ornochoicebuttoturntheir

backs on the hunts and shoots

thatlasted 20 years,during

whichtimeI workedasa

regularphotographer.I had

thepleasureofworkingfor

andwitheditorsMikeBarnes,

RobertGray,WillHetherington,

many columnists, and, of

course,thepresenteditor.

Needlesstosay,I enjoyed

thecompanyofthemall.The

varietyofassignmentsandthe

friendsthatI made,fromso

manyaspectsoftheshooting

world – many of whom I still

bumpintooccasionallyatthe

GameFairandthelike– during

mytimewiththemagazine.

Itwasonlythetrifling

matterofa quadrupleheart

by-passfollowed,onrecovery,

by a move to France, that

necessitatedmyhanging

upthecameras.ButI still

enjoyShootingGazetteand

lookforwardtoa newissue

droppingthrough my postbox

eachmonth.

Paul Fievez, by email