The most important thing you can do this month
The government’s review of game shooting closes on 1 November. One email is all it takes. If you haven’t sent yours yet, today is the day to act, says Conor O’Gorman.
Conservatives back shooting as Defra review deadline looms
BASC and the Angling Trust hosted MPs and delegates at the Conservative Party Conference in Birmingham, where the risk of shoot licensing and the threat it poses to rural life was high on the agenda.
The reception took place on 5 October during the conference at the ICC Birmingham. It was the last of four rural receptions BASC co-hosted with the Angling Trust this autumn, following events at the Reform UK, Liberal Democrat and Labour conferences. The events form part of BASC’s all-party approach, working with politicians across the political spectrum.
The event was hosted by Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, MP for North Cotswolds and chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Shooting and Conservation. Opening the reception, Sir Geoffrey said: “Shooting is really the heart, the glue that holds rural areas together.”
The government is currently reviewing gamebird rearing, release and shooting in England through a Defra call for evidence. Shooting organisations fear the review could lead to tighter regulation, including a requirement for shoots to be licensed. Sir Geoffrey warned that a licensing system would hand control to government over how shoots operate.
Banging the drum for rural life
Robbie Moore, MP for Keighley and Ilkley and Shadow Farming Minister, said the Conservative Defra team would work to protect shooting from measures such as shoot licensing. He told guests that, as a party in opposition, it needed the rural community’s support to make that case. “Politics is about numbers,” he said. “Please engage with us because we want to have your backs.”
Robbie went on to stress the importance of this support, saying: “We are going to need all of your help to make sure that we are banging the drum for the rural economy, for rural growth and for food security, but also for the rural way of life.”
Jak Abrahams, BASC director of public affairs, said: “This autumn we have taken shooting’s case to Reform UK, the Liberal Democrats, Labour and the Conservatives. The message has been the same at each: shooting brings rural communities together and pays for conservation that benefits everyone. Decisions about its future must be based on evidence.
“Defra’s review is the chance to provide it, and we need everyone involved in shooting to respond by 1 November. One email is all it takes.”
Share your experiences of game shooting by sending an email to Defra here.
Remembering Christopher Graffius
Christopher Graffius, BASC’s executive director of communications and public affairs, died in February after almost 25 years with the association. He organised BASC’s conference receptions for many years.
Sir Geoffrey, a long-standing friend, paid tribute to him at the reception. “He was a really lovely man and he did a huge service for shooting,” he said. He also told guests that BASC will install a plaque in Christopher’s honour at its Marford Mill headquarters.
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