Field to fork insurance for recreational hunter gatherers

A question that I know is always asked, is ‘am I covered if you take a small payment in cash or in kind as a result of the recreational activity?’. This applies to me when picking-up, which, in most cases, the payment will barely cover expenses. Nevertheless, it is important that as a BASC member the policy will protect me.

The official line is: ‘BASC insurance policies cover members who make a small commercial gain from the sale of meat or other small income derived from such recreational shooting activities, providing this is not their primary source of income.’

However, if you are formally engaged by a commercial shoot to attend on specific days to undertake a specific task such as beating, picking-up or loading, then you will be employed by the shoot and covered under the shoot’s Employer Liability cover.

If you hire yourself out as a loader, coach, pest controller, stalker/deer manager etc., BASC can introduce you to additional cover needed for this commercial activity see the web site for details.

One additional area of cover that is not as widely known is the “Humane Despatch” cover. All BASC members, regardless of the level of membership (excluding supporters, airgun and gundog members), are covered under the Association’s group liability insurance policy as part of their membership for the humane dispatch of animals (excluding livestock and domestic animals), within the normal course of their recreational shooting.

In addition, members who are approved by authorities such as the police, RSPCA or the Forestry Commission to carry out humane dispatch can benefit from the liability cover if they are called out by such an authority to carry out a legal dispatch.