Help Defend Shooting

HELP DEFEND SHOOTING

A massive response is needed to fight proposals that could shut down shooting in Wales Conor O’Gorman, head of BASC policy and campaigns, explains how shooting businesses can help

A public opinion survey has launched on proposals that could ban the release of pheasants and red-legged partridges anywhere in Wales.

Natural Resources Wales makes the proposals sound reasonable, but they are not. This is an attempt to take away shooting rights by an anti-shooting Welsh Government.

This is a Welsh Government that has denied covid funding to shooting businesses and banned pheasant shooting on public land.

Welsh Government ministers are on record stating that they do not support shooting.

What is happening in Wales is the thin end of a wedge and agencies in other countries are watching the outcome of this closely.

Will the shooting community put up a good fight and bury the consultation in red tape? Or will the antis win the popularity vote with a resounding yes to the proposals?

How to complete the survey

Your business can help us win because anyone, anywhere can complete the survey—which runs until 20 June—and the results will be used in decision making. Several thousand responses from business owners and employees will make a massive difference because the direct impacts you can evidence cannot be easily ignored.

To complete the survey, type www.basc.org.uk/ actnow into your web browser or scan the QR code provided with this article.

Should you wish to just answer ‘no’ to all the questions about the proposals it is fine to do so and it will take two minutes to submit your response.

If you would like to say more, please see some further guidance as follows:

Q1: Give your name.

Q2: Give your email address (optional).

Q3: Give the name of your business.

Q4: Say no. This is a proposed ban on releasing gamebirds which would shut down game shooting in Wales. Furthermore, government commissioned research on gamebird releasing is ongoing and safeguards are already in place for gamebird releasing on protected sites.

Q5: Say no. A licensing regime is unnecessary and unworkable and can be removed at any time, which would result in an automatic gamebird releasing ban.

Q6: Say no. There is already a strong ethos of selfregulation for gamebird releasing and it is unnecessary to make the GWCT sustainable release guidelines a legal requirement through a licencing regime. GWCT guidelines have been part of the Code of Good Shooting Practice for decades and compliance is high. Furthermore, the proposal for red-legged partridge is not fit for purpose as it does not recognise how their release is managed.

Q7: Say no. There is already a strong ethos of selfregulation for gamebird releasing and it is unnecessary to make the GWCT sustainable release guidelines a legal requirement through a licencing regime. GWCT guidelines have been part of the Code of Good Shooting Practice for decades and compliance is high.

Q8: Say no. This would add even more confusion to an already unnecessary and unworkable licensing regime.

The last four questions—Qs 9-12—invite views on

whether the proposals could in any way affect opportunities for people to use the Welsh language. You can skip these questions if you have no comments to make.

Share with your customers

Once you have completed the survey, or if you already did so before reading this article, please help encourage any visitors to your business to complete the survey.

On the BASC website are downloadable images you can use in emails or social media. There are also downloadable posters and leaflets to support the campaign against the proposals. Contact your regional BASC team if you would like us to visit you with leaflets.

Included with this issue of Gun Trade News is a pull out poster. Please put this poster up in your store if possible.

As we know, the shooting community includes a diverse range of opinions on live quarry shooting. Not everyone agrees.

To help with queries, you could tell your customers that shoots carefully manage the release of pheasants and red-legged partridges to ensure a sustainable harvest of wild food in Wales and that no evidence of negative impacts from gamebird releasing have been provided to justify a draconian licensing regime across Wales.

You could explain that the proposals are ideologically driven with an anti-shooting Welsh Government in power.

Perhaps tell customers how entwined shooting is with the rural community and that our countryside will change forever if we don’t all fight these proposals together as one voice.

Quick facts

If you would like to share some facts in your response or with others, you could say something along the following lines.

• The restriction proposals could lead to a loss of up to £7.4m spent annually on conservation projects by shoots across Wales, which would require the equivalent of up to 490 full-time jobs to fill the gap in managing vital habitats for rare and endangered plants and wildlife.

• The Welsh economy could suffer a blow of up to £75 million annually and the loss of up to 2,400 jobs, which will impact rural businesses including pubs and hotels.

Contact BASC

If you have ideas on how to help or need more advice than is available in this article or on the BASC website do please email me at conor.ogorman@basc.org.uk

Together we can win this fight.