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BASC makes submissions for inclusion of shooting on UK Living Heritage inventories
BASC has submitted five Expressions of Interest to DCMS for inclusion of shooting traditions on the Living Heritage inventories.
In December the DCMS launched a programme to compile Inventories of Living Heritage in the UK. The inventories will record skills, customs, and practices passed down through generations that are regarded as important aspects of national culture, life and identity in the UK.
The purpose of the lists is to raise awareness of and help safeguard these practices for the future. Given its central contribution to national life, BASC believes that the absence of shooting from these inventories would represent a significant and unjustified omission.
Since early 2025 BASC has been working DCMS and like-minded organisations to highlight shooting’s place in national life and heritage. So far, BASC has submitted five expressions of interest to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), seeking the formal inclusion of certain shooting and related practices on the Living Heritage inventories.
What submissions has BASC made?
The five expressions of interest reflect the breadth and depth of shooting traditions across the UK and their continuing role in shaping the UK’s landscapes, biodiversity and rural livelihoods. They include:
- Coastal wildfowling in Scotland
- Wildfowling in England, Wales and Northern Ireland
- Gamekeeping in England
- Scottish gamekeeping
- Deer stalking
These expressions of interest represent an initial phase in the process for having practices recognised as living heritage. Full, more detailed submissions are to be completed by 27 March 2026.
Reflecting the advice we have received from DCMS, BASC’s strategy is to produce a small number of high-quality submissions that command widespread support within the shooting community. Our approach has been to focus on credibility, evidence and community support, ensuring that the traditions put forward genuinely reflect the lived experience of those who practise them.
Patrick O’Reilly, BASC’s head of social science, said: “Shooting is one of the practices that has most profoundly shaped, and continues to shape, the British countryside and coastline. It supports nature recovery and sustains rural communities. The expressions of interest and planned submissions will seek to ensure that shooting’s role in responsible land management, conservation and rural life is properly understood and recognised as part of the UK’s living heritage.”
Get involved
BASC is undertaking structured dialogues with members and holding heritage workshops. Members are being encouraged to share their histories and contribute first-hand accounts demonstrating how shooting heritage is maintained and passed on between generations. This practitioner evidence will underpin the credibility and strength of the final submissions.
The list of activities submitted so far is by no means definitive more submissions are planned alongside other initiatives being rolled out to highlight the value of shooting to British lives and heritage.
If you are interested in supporting our work, providing a story, suggesting additional aspects of shooting to be included in the inventories or simply want to learn more about BASC’s living heritage programme, please contact Patrick O’Reilly at patrick.o’reilly@basc.org.uk.
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