With the ever-increasing scrutiny of traditional forms of moorland
management, many feel the solution lies with the sector itself to get on the
front foot in terms of adopting, demonstrating and promoting good practice if
it is to avoid further regulation. In
our June blog, the Heather Trust hears from the British Game Alliance about
their game industry accreditation scheme that is offering shoots an opportunity
to demonstrate their management credentials and develop higher value markets
for their product.
The BGA offers a chance for shoots to demonstrate their best practice in
moorland and wildlife management
Since its launch just over a year ago the British Game
Alliance (BGA) has seen significant success, having signed up over 500 shoots
to its assurance scheme and developed new markets for game both overseas and at
home.
British Game Alliance Chairman, Ivan Shenkman, said, “This
has been an astonishing inaugural year for the British Game Alliance. The BGA
has achieved far more than the founding members believed was possible in the
early stages. We are well on the way to achieving many of our initial objectives
and planning many exciting developments for the future.”
The success of the BGA’s year is thanks, in no small part,
to the support the organisation has received from the wider shooting community,
including other organisations such as the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust
(GWCT) and BASC and individuals like the BGA Ambassadors.
Ensuring best
practice
The BGA was formed with the aim of increasing the demand for
and the value of British game, but the organisation’s Assurance Scheme and Shoot
Standards offer an unrivalled opportunity to demonstrate the beneficial impacts
of the game industry from an environmental perspective. In addition to food
handling and animal welfare guidelines, the shoot standards include points to
ensure that BGA accredited shoots adhere to best practice when it comes to
conservation and the impact on the wider environment.
There are specific measures requiring BGA accredited shoots
to abide by The Blanket Bog Land Management Guidance and the Heather and Grass
Burning / Muirburn Codes, as well as revoking membership of those successfully
prosecuted or cautioned for wildlife crimes from membership of the
organisation. There are also more general points requiring that shoots “ensure
the land is appropriately managed to continually benefit wildlife and its
environment” and that stocking densities of released birds have no negative
impact on the biodiversity of the surrounding environment.
An important part of getting the message about the positive
benefits of game shooting out into the wider world is being able to demonstrate
the environmental and conservation credentials of these shoots – even those who
are currently doing a good job.
Since being launched, the Assurance Scheme by the BGA has
audited 33% of the 500 + registered shoots and aims to increase that to 50% for
the coming 2019/20 season. Regular auditing is essential to give credibility to
the assurance scheme and its member shoots and to help build confidence among
consumers of game and the wider public that best practice is being followed.
The BGA has, with the help of GWCT and Moorland Association, trained 8 auditors
to complete shoot assessments around the UK.
The BGA encourage registered shoots to embrace the audit
process, which need not be feared. It is a process to help each shoot
understand what abiding to “best practice” means and to make any changes, if
necessary, with the help from the auditor. As part of our registration
agreement a shoot agrees to adhere to the BGA Assurance scheme standards, so
the assessment is a means of verifying this. Many moorland managers and
gamekeepers are rightly proud of the work they do to conserve and manage these
important habitats and the BGA’s scheme gives them the chance to demonstrate it
in a verifiable way.
The BGA encourages shoots of all sizes to join its
initiative to implement a credible self-regulation across the shooting
industry, ensuring we abide by “best practice” and offering us political
security for a sustainable future.
To read the full end of season summary for 2018/19, you can
download it here: https://www.britishgamealliance.co.uk/season-summary-2018-2019/
