Managing the threats to shooting and its associated land management practices, and ensuring their considerable environmental, economic and social benefits are recognised at all levels of government, is central to our work. Campaigning for Shooting 2025 – 2026 provides an overview of the main issues that we have been dealing with over the last year and looks ahead to those with which we expect to be dealing over the next 12 months.
Labour’s election manifesto pledged to introduce full cost recovery for firearms licensing and to ban ‘snare traps’. The former has since been introduced, and the latter is confirmed as being in the pipeline. The government has consulted on proposed further restrictions to burning on peatlands, and it aims to legislate to ban the use of lead in ammunition by summer 2026, with a three-year transition period. A consultation on restricting shotgun ownership by aligning parts of firearms licensing legislation is being prepared, and they have announced their intention to introduce the most ambitious programme for animal welfare in a generation with an animal welfare strategy due to be published later this year. Restrictions on the release of gamebirds due to perceived threats of avian influenza have impacted numerous shoots. The presence of avian influenza in Britain with all its implications is likely to remain.
Wild Justice has said they will not be giving up when it comes to the fight to end driven grouse shooting, despite the annihilation of its latest petition when debated by MPs in parliament and confirmation by the government that it has no plans to do so. The RSPB can also be expected to use every opportunity to continue calling for the licensing of grouse shooting despite there simply being no justification for doing so. The threats to shooting are therefore very real, and the Campaign for Shooting is there to fight them on your behalf, but to do so successfully we must have the necessary resources. The sale of the Campaign for Shooting Season Badge plays a crucial role in funding our work, as all proceeds go directly towards our campaigning. Please help us, and be seen to be doing so, by buying this season’s new badge, and encouraging your friends to do likewise.
You can read Campaigning for Shooting 2025 – 2026: a year in retrospect and the year ahead here.