Features
Looking for something to read? You’ll find a host of insightful and entertaining articles on all things shooting right here.
Hold fire on general licences survey
Conor O’Gorman advises people to wait until BASC publishes guidance before responding to a survey on general licences for pest bird control in England.
Shooting has spoken
The call for evidence on game shooting in England generated more than 26,000 emails to Defra. Conor O’Gorman takes stock and looks at what comes next.
MPs back ‘toolbox’ approach to upland management
Alex Farrell welcomes the EFRA Committee’s wildfire report backing a ‘toolbox’ approach to prevention, and sets out the problems with England’s burning licences.
Making the case for game shooting
Junior BASC member Felix Hodgkinson-Last wrote his A-level EPQ on whether game shooting can be justified today, then submitted it to Defra.
Five minutes with Schöffel Countryside Awards finalist Jim Allsop
Jim Allsop has spent a decade turning Monkwood, a 270-acre site near Chesterfield, into a haven for wildlife.
From gravel pit to wildlife haven: Will Garfit’s small shoot story
Artist and author Will Garfit explains how his small shoot turned 69 acres of gravel workings into a haven for 148 bird species and over 460 plants.
Bisterne Estate: a shoot, a farm and a wetland recovery
How a decade of targeted predator control and carefully timed grazing brought breeding lapwing and redshank back to Bisterne Estate’s wet meadows.
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.
Ponsonby Farms: a day beating for wild grey partridge
BASC’s Sam Walker joins the beaters at Ponsonby Farms in Gloucestershire to see a wild grey partridge recovery, built on shoot management, in action.