Science matters
BASC monitors scientific journals, environmental, policy and political alerts for the results of studies of relevance to shooting and conservation. Below are links to a selection of papers published in October – December 2025.
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Birds
- Widespread ingestion of synthetic micro-particles by geese across Great Britain and Ireland
- Decline of a breeding population of Woodcock following the re-introduction of shooting in winter on a small island in Argyll
- Predicting the combined impacts of future management and climate change on moorland bird species
- From dusk till dawn: ecoacoustic monitoring reveals wind energy impacts on roding Eurasian woodcock Scolopax rusticola
- Differences in weather conditions associated with the onset of pre-breeding migration of Scolopax rusticola (Eurasian Woodcock) and Gallinago gallinago (Common Snipe)
- Shifting the baseline for waterbird and seabird conservation in europe, risk assessment over one century
- Changes in waterbird occurrence and abundance at their northern range boundaries in response to climate warming: importance of site area and protection status
- Habitat conditions during winter explain movement among subpopulations of a declining migratory bird
Mammals
- Beyond message framing: Participant characteristics predict social acceptability of increased deer culling in Scotland
- Broad support for lethal control of wild deer among subscribers of nature organisations in England and Wales
- Evidence of anthropogenic subsidisation of red foxes in a national park important for breeding wading birds
- The Impact of Deer on Wetland Habitats in the Broads National Park
- The ungulate pretender: Why the non-native Sika deer may become Scotland’s new Monarch of the Glen
- Detection of Cryptosporidium spp. and Giardia duodenalis DNA in wild deer in Scotland
- Increased occurrence of Staphylococcus aureus in wild ungulates intended for human consumption – An update on the monitoring in Brandenburg, Germany
- White-tailed deer hunters’ perceptions of harvest reporting systems: An importance-performance analysis
- Attitudes and Beliefs of Wild Boar Hunters in Croatia Towards Preventing and Controlling African Swine Fever
- No evidence of BoHV-1 exposure and low levels of pestivirus exposure in sera from 116 opportunistically sampled wild deer in Northern Ireland
Land management
- Prescribed heather burning on peatlands: A review of ten key claims made about heather management impacts and implications for future UK policy
- Woodland proximity limits benefits of conservation land management for farmland breeding waders
- Landscape-scale native woodland habitat restoration using natural tree regeneration provides a biodiversity boost for moths in the uplands
- Creating woodland through natural processes: Current understanding and knowledge gaps in Great Britain
- Structural Diversity and Biodiversity of Forest and Hedgerow in Areas Managed for Shooting Across the UK
- Forest bird diversity increases with fragmentation per se in landscapes following forest gains
Other topics
- The challenge of science in the face of polarization around recreational hunting and wildlife management
- Community (citizen) science for assessing nature’s benefits: A systematic review and survey
- Residual lead in edible tissues of red-legged partridge (Alectoris rufa) following removal of detectable pellets
- Health risks and bioavailability of metal residues from hunting ammunition in game meat
- Lead micro- and nanoparticles directly observed within gunshot wounds in hunted game meat
- Gastronomy and Hunting Tourism: Determining the Effect’s Sensory Properties of Gray Partridge (Perdix perdix) Game Meat with Different Cooking Methods
- A Self-Determination Approach to Understanding Leisure Identity Salience among Lapsed Hunters
- Wildlife Management in the Anthropocene
- The value of wildlife to people
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