Shropshire Star

Will ban on pheasant shooting harm the countryside?

"The new Welsh policy on shooting would even make Donald Trump blush," muses Andrew Gilruth.

Published
Andrew Gilruth, of the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust

"The minister, Hannah Blythyn, has announced her support for the shooting of everything from deer, foxes, crows, magpies and rabbits to squirrels. But bizarrely not pheasants."

And it is the latter which is ruffling feathers in the normally tranquil backwaters of the Welsh countryside.

National Resources Wales (NRW), is to ban pheasant shooting on all public land in Wales. The ban, voted through at a meeting in September, will mean the end of many long-established shoots on the Shropshire-Wales border, including Bank Wood, near Llandrindod Wells, Maesmawr Big Wood near Newtown, and Cwmgwnen near Oswestry.

Mr Gilruth, of the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust, says the ban flies in the face of the NRW's own research, and believes it is more about the personal preferences of Miss Blythyn, environment minister in the Welsh government.

"This goes against the findings of a £45,000 review conducted by Natural Resources Wales," he says.

"It spent 2,000 hours reviewing over 250 pieces of evidence and considered 4,700 public consultation responses over two years.

"They identified the evidence that pheasant shooting can positively contribute to biodiversity, well-being, rural enterprise, jobs and community cohesion, and stated it should continue on the existing basis.

"It now appears the findings did not agree with the minister for environment’s personal views and she sought to intervene."

The move has angered Glyn Davies, Tory MP for Montgomeryshire, says the sport is hugely important to the economy of his constituency, bringing in huge numbers of visitors every year.

He says he cannot comprehend the thinking behind the ban.

"They are striking a very big blow to the Welsh economy, I just don't think what they are doing makes any sense, either for the environment or the economy," says Mr Davies.

"Just to target pheasant shooting doesn't make any sense at all, I just don't understand what they are playing at, it is going to have a huge effect on the economy, particularly in rural areas."

The shooting industry is thought to be worth an estimated £2 billion a year to the UK economy, and provides jobs for about 75,000 people.

The consequences may not just be restricted to Wales, either.

Will Oakley, who runs Willogame game dealer at Norbury, near Bishop's Castle, says the impact on the economy of Shropshire and Mid Wales could be severe.

"A lot of people are employed in that industry, everything from gamekeepers, to hospitality, to people working in hotels and pubs," he says.

"It will be very important," he says. "It won't affect me directly, but I think it will have an impact in terms of game supplies."

The British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC) warns that the consequences could be much more far reaching than just economic matters, arguing that some endangered species could be under threat.

Ian Coghill, a member of the BASC council, says: "It has been repeatedly demonstrated, not only that land managed for shooting has greater biodiversity and higher conservation value, but perhaps even more striking, that without the techniques pioneered and used in shoot management, biodiversity in the wider landscape can be compromised and the survival of some important species may even be in doubt."

The threat to the sport comes at the same time as the newly formed British Game Alliance is trying to encourage more people to eat pheasant, arguing that greater consumption of birds that live in the wild is good for animal welfare.

Tom Adams, head of the alliance, says there needs to be a change of perception that views meats such as pheasant and partridge as the preserve of the privileged.

"We are trying to move away from game being for aristocrats, and making it a really accessible meat," he says.

"Consumers are increasingly conscious about the welfare of the meat they eat and we have to up our game to meet their criteria.

"Game is the ultimate free-range food."

It is a claim that is disputed by the League Against Cruel Sports, which says that 27 million 'factory-farmed' pheasants and partridges are released into the countryside, only for many to be buried or incinerated after being shot.

Campaign director Chris Luffingham says: "You can't shoot millions and millions of pheasants and then claim it's one for the pot when it's obvious most people in this country don't put pheasant in their pot."

The shooting lobby vehemently denies the birds are being thrown away, saying those not sold to dealers are eaten by those involved with the shoots.

The row about the shooting ban appears to surround a letter sent by Miss Blythyn to the NRW board after its review concluded the sport should continue as shooting contributed to the country’s sustainable management and wellbeing targets.

Miss Blythyn wrote to the board pointing out that the position of the Welsh government was that the sport should be banned from publicly owned forestry, and NRW then voted to impose the ban.

Some members of the Welsh Assembly have welcomed the decision, and praised Miss Blythyn for her 'clear moral steer'.

But assembly member for Montgomeryshire, Conservative Russell George said the minister should visit the area to meet one of the “many businesses that are now laying off staff”.

Miss Blythyn insists her letter was not binding, and that it was the board's own decision to go ahead with the ban.

Mr Gilruth points to a poll commissioned by the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust, which found that 61 per cent of Welsh voters believed pheasant shooting should continue. This is in stark contrast to an earlier poll commissioned by the League Against Cruel Sports and Animal Aid, he says.

"Eighty-five per cent of those questioned felt the wider conservation, social and employment benefits that stem from pheasant shooting are poorly understood," says Mr Gilruth.

"For example, the vast majority had no idea about the NRW evidence review concluding that pheasant shooting can positively contribute to biodiversity and community cohesion, as set out in the Welsh Environment Act and the Welsh Well-being of Future Generations Act. NRW decided pheasant shooting should continue, and it still stands by that decision."