Inspiring the next generation: lessons from Europe

BASC’s head of education and outreach Curtis Mossop reflects on an international youth conference in Denmark. He explains why engaging young people is essential to the future of shooting, conservation and the countryside.

Like many, my passion for nature and shooting was passed down through my family. My father, and his before him, introduced me to the countryside and I hope to do the same for my own children.

Young people are central to the future of shooting. That’s why I was delighted to be invited to the inaugural Kids in Nature conference, hosted at the beautiful Brahetrolleborg Estate in Denmark’s Faaborg region. The two-day event was organised by the Danish Hunters’ Association and SCI Kingdom of Denmark. It brought together education and outreach leads from hunting associations across Europe and the United States.

Learning from Denmark

With almost every European country represented, the event was an invaluable opportunity to share ideas, compare experiences and learn from one another’s challenges.

In Denmark, hunters make up around three per cent of the population, compared to less than one per cent in the UK. Public acceptance of hunting is far higher. In a recent survey, 89 per cent of Danes supported hunting, with only four per cent opposed.

The Danish Hunters’ Association has developed an outstanding youth programme, Bliv Naturlig Vis, which translates as “become naturally wise.” It introduces children to the countryside through hunting and fishing in a way that is both honest and hands-on.

In Denmark, it is perfectly normal for educators to take shot game into kindergartens, teaching children about skinning, butchery and cooking over open fires. Parents welcome this approach, and children are encouraged to push their boundaries, explore and get muddy.

The Danish outlook on education is refreshingly pragmatic. A well-known example came in 2014 when a Copenhagen zoo euthanised a young giraffe. Rather than conceal what had happened, the zoo used the event as an educational opportunity. A public dissection was carried out, attended by both adults and children, and the meat was then fed to lions. In Denmark this was considered a rational, transparent approach. In the UK, the reaction was one of outrage.

The UK approach

This contrast underlines a growing problem at home. Here, many young people are increasingly disconnected from nature, food provenance and the reasons why our countryside is managed as it is. A 2021 study found the average UK child spends just four hours a week outdoors – half the time of the previous generation.

Of course, cultural differences mean our approach to youth engagement must be different. Turning up to a nursery with a muntjac over your shoulder and a brace of rabbits under your arm would not go down well with most parents in the UK. That is why at BASC, while we remain honest and transparent about shooting, we use alternative ways of introducing young people to conservation and the countryside.

And we do it well. At the conference, there was stunned silence when I explained the scale of BASC’s youth work. Since launching BASC to School in 2022, we have engaged with more than 160,000 children, including more than 35,000 this year alone. For a country with far lower public acceptance of hunting than Denmark, this was a figure our international colleagues found hard to believe.

A word of warning as we look to the future

Amid the positivity and excellent workshops at the conference, there was also a sobering reminder from the Polish Hunting Association. In 2018, despite no scientific evidence, the Polish government banned anyone under 18 from taking part in hunting. This included any passive role such as beating on a driven day. The justification was to prevent supposed “psychological damage” to children. It remains a deeply flawed piece of legislation and one the Polish Hunting Association is still fighting to overturn.

The lessons from Denmark, and the warning from Poland, underline just how important our work is. Political engagement and youth outreach are not simply parts of what BASC does. They are fundamental to safeguarding the future of shooting. The Kids in Nature conference reinforced what I have always believed. If we inspire and involve young people today, we give shooting and conservation a stronger, more secure tomorrow.

Curtis Mossop

Curtis is BASC's head of outreach and education. Curtis grew up in the Lake District and has over 25 years’ experience shooting. Starting out as a gamekeeper on a mixed sporting estate in Perthshire, he later moved to Sparsholt college to teach game and wildlife management courses before becoming a senior lecturer at Newton Rigg College in Cumbria.