ShootingShooting does not face an outright ban – yet. However, we should never forget that shooting faces regular threats whether through restrictions on the guns we use, the ammunition we fire, the birds we rear, the land we use or our very presence in the countryside we love. Alongside our political lobbying, winning public support is essential. Our public opinion research drives our campaign focus and ensures that we know which buttons to press. Our hugely successful Game-to-Eat campaign has increased game sales by more than 60 per cent is a direct outcome of our research and hard work. Other Alliance projects, include getting more young people involved in shooting and National Shooting Week, which has introduced thousands of newcomers to the sport, all help to create new attitudes towards shooting. |
 David Taylor writes on snaringFriday, 30 March 2012 Shooting Campaign Manager David Taylor writes: It is sometimes pointed out to me that I am obsessed with shooting. My wife frequently mentions that all I ever want to do is go shooting. I argue that this is not the case, if only to defend myself, but deep down I know she is probably right. Personally, I prefer the term passionate. Despite this, there is one trap that I try and stay away from – thinking that everyone else’s world revolves around shooting. Read more Taylor's travels - pigeonWednesday, 28 March 2012 It's crop protection time. David Taylor, CA Shooting Campaign Manager at the Countryside Alliance meets game chef Mark Gilchrist who is trying to keep the wood pigeons off the spring crops. He also gets his hands on the new Browning pigeon (and pheasant and clay) gun: the B725. Read moreShooting Campaign news - March 2012Tuesday, 6 March 2012 Welcome to the March shooting update, brought to you by the Countryside Alliance Shooting Campaign. This month we bring you National Shooting Week, the National Trust, a forthcoming shooting seminar in Lancashire and our new downloadable game recipe cards. Read more What future for the National Trust's grouse moors?Monday, 27 February 2012 CA Moorlands Director Adrian Blackmore writes: This week sees the start of a public consultation that the National Trust is carrying out in order to produce a ‘Master Plan’ for its High Peak moors in the Peak District, four of which are grouse moors that are currently held under sporting leases. Read more Polesden LaceyThursday, 23 February 2012 The National Trust has hit the headlines again after refusing to yield on its decision to terminate the shooting lease at Polesden Lacey. Shooting was an integral part of the fabric of this historic house. Before being passed into trust, shooting played a major role in the landscaping of many National Trusts estates. Since then, private syndicates have continued this tradition and maintained that very landscape. Read more New CA Executive Chairman in Shooting TimesWednesday, 22 February 2012 Supporters will be interested to hear that Shooting Times magazine features an interview with new CA Executive Chairman Sir Barney White-Spunner in the current issue, out today. A PDF of the interview will appear next week, but meantime, quotes of note include: "In terms of all-round pleasure, fowling and snipe come first, then I'd opt for a high pheasant day in Wiltshire........" and ".....I've got to the state in life where I don't really enjoy the sport so much unless I've got my two fox-red labradors with me." See pages 19-21 of Shooting Times for more. Read more Taylor's Travels - working whippetsThursday, 9 February 2012 The short-film series "Taylor's Travels" continues this week on CATV. Shooting Campaign Manager David Taylor recently visited Wensleydale in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales to see firsthand how whippets are used to control the rabbit population. Read more John HumphreysWednesday, 8 February 2012 The Countryside Alliance is sad to report the death of John Humphreys. A lifelong countryman and CA member, John was a staunch supporter of the Alliance's Shooting Campaign. Read moreShooting Campaign update - February 2012Wednesday, 8 February 2012 Welcome to the CA Shooting Campaign's Shoot Update, keeping you up to date with our work in promotion and defence of shooting. Read more The RSPB and hen harriersThursday, 26 January 2012 In March 2011, the RSPB issued a media release claiming that illegal persecution was killing Britain's hen harrier population. The release, which it also sent with a covering note to all Ministers and MPs, stated that 'every year hen harriers are targeted on grouse moors across the UK and it is clear that this onslaught is having a significant impact on our population. We believe that gamekeepers are killing them illegally - under pressure from their land-owning masters.' However, according to the RSPB's own figures, there has only been one recorded incident of hen harrier persecution in the past seven years; an incident that was dismissed by the Crown Prosecution Service when a thorough police investigation found no bodies, or forensic or ballistic evidence to show that any crime had been committed. It is therefore difficult to understand how the decline in hen harriers over the same period can be attributed to illegal persecution by keepers. Read more |
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