“At the moment I think shooting works very well. I think it’s very well policed and that the police forces are doing a good job with it. I think making it more difficult to shoot is going to be so detrimental to people’s livelihoods and wellbeing.”
In the Land Use Framework published in March this year, the Government set out an ambition that to future-proof the gamebird shooting sector and ensure high environmental and animal health and welfare outcomes, it wants to transition to the highest standards of practice being consistently applied for upland and lowland shooting.
It included a commitment to work with the sector and other stakeholder groups to explore wider measures such as licensing and any associated conditions for recreational gamebird shooting and release. This will begin with evidence gathering.
The government says the Call for Evidence, which runs from 4 September to 1 November, will help deliver that commitment by gathering evidence to inform any future policy considerations.
A Defra spokesperson said: “High environmental and animal welfare standards must be in place for sustainable shooting to succeed, protecting our ecosystems and biosecurity.
“We are collecting evidence which will allow us to weigh up whether further action is needed to guarantee the highest shooting standards across the country.”
The results will inform future advice to ministers. Any proposed changes which go beyond current approaches will be subject to public consultation.
For further information and to respond to the Call for Evidence, click here: https://consultations.defra.gov.uk/call-for-evidence-on-gamebird-release-shooting-and-welfare-during-rearing-in-england