What shooting delivers for nature recovery
Read about the benefits that shooting brings for nature recovery, along with its environmental, economic and social impact in the UK.Â
What shooting delivers for nature recovery
Read about the benefits that shooting brings for nature recovery, along with its environmental, economic and social impact in the UK.Â
What difference does shooting make?
The connection between shooting and nature recovery may not be obvious on the face of it. However, you don’t have to look very far to see how intrinsically linked the two things are.Â
The work of the shooting sector to create and restore precious habitats, to enhance biodiversity, and to mitigate climate change cannot be underestimated, nor undervalued.
And the benefits don’t stop there. From being a lynchpin in fragile rural economies, to curbing social challenges such as loneliness and isolation – there’s more to shooting than just pulling the trigger.
Capturing impact
BASC have published three sector-leading reports on what shooting delivers UK-wide across a raft of areas aligned to government policy and targets. Key findings from the Value of Shooting Report 2024, the Natural Capital Benefits of Shooting report and Shooting and national nature recovery goals are detailed below.
The Value of Shooting
A collaboration between 24 rural organisations, the Value of Shooting Report 2024 updates on previous research carried out in 2014.Â
It was undertaken by Cognisense, an independent market research and data analytics firm, and was published in June 2024.
The report establishes the value of shooting’s contribution to the environment, economy and social landscape in the UK.
Key findings
- 620,000 individuals are actively involved in shooting-related activities.
- Shooting providers and volunteers carry out £500 million worth of conservation work, equivalent to 26,000 full-time jobs and 14 million workdays each year.
- Habitat management and conservation are carried out on 7.6 million hectares as a result of shooting.
- Shooting is worth £3.3 billion (GVA) to the UK economy each year.
- Through contribution in kind (CiK) and supply chain value, shooting generates £9.3 billion of wider economic activity is generated for the UK economy.
- Shooters spend £4.4 billion on their UK-based supply chain each year.
- Three out of four people who take part in shooting said that it is important to them and their personal wellbeing, with most stating shooting specifically contributes positively to their physical and mental health.
Generating natural capital
Natural capital is the sum of the financial and social benefits we derive from our natural environment.Â
BASC’s inaugural Natural Capital Benefits of Shooting report, compiled in 2023 in partnership with the Economics for the Environment Consultancy and Strutt & Parker, covers four key areas: carbon capture, public health savings, recreation, and food and forestry.Â
Together, the natural capital benefits brought about by shooting every year total £1.1 billion.
Key findings
- Carbon sequestration – valued at £382 million
- Public health savings – valued at £64 million
- Recreation – valued at £607 million
- Food and forestry – valued at £100 million
Shooting and national nature recovery goals
BASC’s whitepaper, Shooting and national nature recovery goals, demonstrates that shooting can incentivise practices such as hedgerow restoration to help birds, insects and mammals to thrive. In addition, game cover crops also provide a boost to farmland ecosystems.
The report highlights the importance of deer management in woodland regeneration and reducing emissions from degraded land, the part of shooting estate in managing extensive areas of peatland, and the potential role of shooting in the management of habitats such as wetlands.
Key proposals
To expand on shooting’s current contribution, the report outlines a clear set of proposals:
- Investment in research to better quantify and demonstrate shooting’s environmental value;
- Stronger collaboration between the shooting sector, government agencies, and conservation bodies;
- Closer integration with environmental land management schemes.
Read latest our case studies
Whether conducting or commissioning scientific research to fill knowledge gaps around sustainable shooting, or by funding projects to improve habitats for threatened species, BASC – and our membership – takes a proactive approach to nature recovery.Â
Wader Week – get the right advice
The Working for Waders partnership has published predator management guidance on how lethal and non-lethal predator control can contribute to wader conservation.
Helping breeding waders around Lough Erne, Northern Ireland
Members of Lough Erne Wildfowlers’ Council are working with local farmers on predator management and habitat provision to increase the numbers of breeding snipe, curlew, lapwing, redshank and common sandpiper.
Redshank and avocet recovery in Northwest England
Land managed by The Lytham & District Wildfowlers’ Association supports the highest numbers of breeding redshank and avocet in the UK thanks to a combination of predator control and habitat management.
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Fenland wildfowlers put conservation into practice
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Wader Week – get the right advice
The Working for Waders partnership has published predator management guidance on how lethal and non-lethal predator control can contribute to wader conservation.
BASC prize draw rewards duck nest monitoring efforts
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