Gear up for Autumn with BASC Women in Shooting
BASC Women in Shooting has an event for you this Autumn, whether you’re new to shooting or have a favoured discipline.
- - Features
- - Features
2024: A year in BASC – celebrating wins, wagging tails and landmark achievements
As 2024 draws to a close, it’s time to reflect on a year of standout moments, gritty determination, and a healthy dose of life in the countryside. Here’s a light-hearted look back at some of our top stories from the past 12 months.
Tweed the top dog
Move over A-listers, this year’s biggest star isn’t strutting on a red carpet, but bounding across the wilds of Scotland. Four-year-old Tweed (Nithvalley Tweed at Foxhope) took top honours in BASC’s gamekeeper classes at Crufts 2024, proving to be an immensely popular winner.
Tweed’s triumph was a celebration of the bond between working dogs and their handlers, showcased at the world’s biggest dog show.
From Maasai to moorland marvels
2024 wasn’t just about UK-based highlights. BASC welcomed members of a Maasai tribe for a cultural exchange in June, blending traditions and broadening horizons of local schoolchildren during their visit to Church Drive Primary School as part of the programme of events.
Meanwhile, BBC Radio 4’s Farming Today programme gave glowing praise to BASC’s Let’s Learn Moor initiative. It turns out educating the public on the beauty and value of our uplands can still blow people away, radio hosts included.
Gold, guns and game awards
Nathan Hales made Olympic history in July with a stunning shooting performance, while there was Olympic silver to celebrate for Team GB’s Amber Rutter, with rifle shooter Tim Jeffery basking in a bronze glow at the Paralympics shortly after.
A few months earlier in March, BASC’s Joe Mann became Champion of Champions at the Eat Game Awards. And speaking of game, Rachel Green’s game Christmas recipes are set to make festive feasts across the UK deliciously unforgettable this year. Watch here now if you’re looking for some holiday cookery inspiration.
Fighting for the future
BASC’s Fighting Fund notched up a number of significant legal victories this year, providing vital backing for our members when they need it most.
From a political perspective, the attendance of the then Defra Secretary, Steve Barclay, at BASC’s Northern Gamekeepers’ Conference in May gave members the chance to put questions to a key decision-maker face-to-face. Be it our ongoing political engagement, or working with Cumbria police to reduce its firearms licensing backlog, BASC has made its presence felt in 2024.
In the latter part of the year, the reopening of Gloucestershire’s firearms grant applications reaffirmed the tangible impact possible when the association, our members and MPs work together for a common purpose.
Our determination to find workable solutions in a challenging political environment was never more evident than in the passing of the Wildlife Management and Muirburn (Scotland) Bill, which resulted in the opening of the Scottish grouse licensing system in July.
Natural capital and a win for self-regulation
In May, the sector’s self-regulation efforts shone through with promising woodcock numbers in England and Wales, a testament to responsible stewardship. And BASC’s inaugural Natural Capital Benefits of Shooting report released back in February reinforced what countryside stalwarts have always known: shooting and conservation go hand in hand.
2024 was a big year from a research perspective, seeing the launch of the Value of Shooting report prior to the General Election in July. The work of 24 rural organisations including BASC, the report outlined shooting’s contribution of £3.3bn to the UK each year, along with a host of other standout figures, including £500m-worth of conservation work delivered annually by those associated with shooting. In a first for BASC, the report was rolled out across the Metro newspaper network, taking shooting and conservation of the countryside to urban audiences.
Tales from schools and gamekeepers
In a milestone for education, October saw our BASC to School initiative hit the mark of engaging with 50,000 children in 2024. The figure has since increased to more than 52,000 for the number of children and young people our teams have interacted with and educated over the past year.
A new initiative for 2024, the Northern Ireland vs. Wales game meat challenge brought together catering students from either side of the Irish sea for a memorable cooking contest.
A wildly successful wildlife fund
In another first, BASC hosted its first BASC Wildlife Fund political reception in the Senedd at the start of the year, bridging the gap between shooting and policymakers.
The work of the fund in supporting conservation efforts in the UK and abroad would go on to earn BASC a FACE award for the Best Wildlife Fund for Conservation in the autumn.
Events and training galore
BASC is the shooting sector’s largest training provider, and this year was no different, with scores of courses, educational days and events run by our regional and country teams. The start of the year saw the launch of BASC’s register of competent deer stalkers, aiming to open up deer management opportunities for BASC members.
Autumn saw a jam-packed series of BASC Women in Shooting events, including our first ultimate women’s event in October – a weekend to remember for all involved.
The chances are, if you attended a game fair or countryside event this year, our people were there too. Not least of these was The Game Fair 2024, which enjoyed an outstanding return to Blenheim Palace in July.
Looking forward to 2025
As we look forward to 2025, we’d like to thank everyone who was part of our year in 2024. From making your voice heard via consultations, to lobbying your MP, to chatting with our teams at shows and events, or just by joining us or renewing your membership each year – BASC is made by its members.
Together we show that shooting is about more than pulling the trigger; it’s about people, heritage, and the countryside that means so much to us all. So, here’s to another year of advocacy, adventure, and achievement.
Merry Christmas and a happy new year, from the BASC family to yours.
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BASC Media team
Senedd election platform amplifies shooting’s voice
BASC has launched an online election platform to allow members to make direct contact with their local parliamentary candidates ahead of the Senedd elections on 6 May.
