A Scottish Demonstration Farm for GWCT

Auchnerran Farm.  Photo: GWCT

In a recent article on their website, the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust provided the background to this new development:

"Having a demonstration farm in Scotland has been a GWCT objective for ten years. Demonstration is at the heart of the GWCT’s Allerton Project at Loddington in Leicestershire. Over 20 years this has become a showpiece for our farmland research, demonstrating that good arable farming and game shooting management sustain wildlife and countryside income."

The inclusion of upland and lowland within the farm makes this development of particular interest to the Heather Trust.  I like to avoid placing boundaries around different land types and separating upland from lowland issues is often unhelpful; much farm stock is moved between the two areas and wildlife moves freely up and down the hill.  Therefore, being able to demonstrate how game management and farming work side by side in lowland and upland areas will be very valuable.

An early fund raising target is £5,000 to cover tick treatment for the sheep flock for 12 months.  A JustGiving webpage has been set up to receive donations, which can be made anonymously if desired. 

The Value of Shooting

The Value of Shooting, a report into the economic, environmental and social contribution of shooting sport to the UK, was published on Sunday. This is an update of the previous report that was published eight years ago and the figures show that despite the economic woes in recent years, shooting continues to provide jobs, and benefits for tourism and conservation.

The findings in the report have been extracted from 16,234 responses to a questionnaire.  The main findings are:

• Shooting accounts for a spend of £2.5 billion each year on goods and services 
• Shooting is worth £2 billion to the UK economy (GVA) 
• Shooting supports the equivalent of 74,000 full-time jobs 
• Shooting is involved in the management of two-thirds of the rural land area 
• Nearly two million hectares are actively managed for conservation as a result of shooting 
• Shoot providers spend nearly £250 million a year on conservation 
• At least 600,000 people in the UK shoot live quarry, clay pigeons or targets 
• Existing industry information shows that there are at least 1.6m individuals who shoot live quarry with an airgun 
• Shooters spend 3.9 million work days on conservation – the equivalent of 16,000 full-time jobs 

Report Update: The Economic and Environmental Impact of Sporting Shooting

Public and Corporate Economic Consultants (PACEC) have been commissioned to update and expand on their 2006 study ‘The Economic and Environmental Impact of Sporting Shooting’.

The 2006 report was prepared by PACEC on behalf of The British Association for Shooting and Conservation, Country Land and Business Association, and Countryside Alliance and in association with Game Conservancy Trust, and it has been decided that is time to refresh the data.  In 2006, game shooting was worth £1.6 billion to the UK economy and it is thought that this has increased since then as have the tourism, business, conservation and biodiversity benefits associated with the shooting industry.

This report has provided some invaluable information and I am delighted that it is to be updated.  It is a cause well worth supporting.  A key part of the review process will be the survey questionnaire that will be sent to the membership of all those organisations that are supporting it.