Cultural Heritage
Wildfowling is a living tradition of the UK’s coasts — shaped by people, place and wildlife.
As one of the most important forces shaping UK landscapes, shooting, its culture and living heritage deserve to be recognised, celebrated and safeguarded. To do otherwise would be a denial of our history and way of life.
Since 2024 BASC has been active in efforts to ensure that all shooting traditions in the UK are recognised as part of the UK’s Living Heritage inventory process, with a view to eventual international recognition under the UNESCO convention on intangible heritage.
The work will also provide us with the opportunity to build an archive of shooting heritage and educate the wider public about shooting’s contribution. This page and the links below detail some of the work we have done on wildfowling and is a first phase in the work we are doing to celebrate and promote all shooting practices.
Wildfowling: a living tradition of the UK’s coasts
Since neolithic times, hunters employed a deep understanding of wetland environments and bird behaviour to harvest wildfowl. Since then wildfowling has evolved over centuries as an important element of livelihoods in coastal areas.
From medieval times, wildfowling has been synonymous with accessible and affordable meat. It is a traditional that gave rise to market gunners who supplied growing urban populations and provided off-ration meat during the First and Second World Wars.
Subsequently, wildfowlers have lead efforts to conserve wildfowl populations. Wildfowling remains rooted in lives in estuaries, saltmarshes and wetlands, bringing together traditional fieldcraft, environmental knowledge and responsible harvesting. It is a living heritage sustained by communities who understand, manage and care for these landscapes.
Why it matters
Wildfowling connects generations through shared, local knowledge and seasonal rhythms. Practitioners develop deep understanding of tides, weather and bird behaviour, while contributing to habitat management and conservation work.
It is a living cultural practice embracing environmental stewardship, recreation and foodways that makes a distinct and unique contribution to the identify of communities linked to the UK’s coastlines, wetlands and estuaries.
Recognising wildfowling as living heritage
BASC is working with wildfowling clubs and practitioners across the UK to build the case for wildfowling’s inclusion in the UK Living Heritage Inventories.
This work is community-led, built on consultation and the collection of evidence to ensure wildfowlers’ voices are properly represented. The links below provide access to some of this work and contributions of wildfowling clubs and individuals have made to this work.
Explore wildfowling heritage
A living connection
Wildfowling heritage is not a thing of the past. It is an evolving part of the UK’s present and future – a living heritage that adapts to change while remaining firmly rooted in tradition.
Part of our mission in BASC is to build recognition for the historical contributions of wildfowling, celebrate its continued impact and safeguard this unique relationship between people and nature for future generations to come.