Rural organisations have condemned the Scottish Government’s announcement that it is to develop a licensing scheme for grouse moors, saying it will be a seriously damaging blow to fragile rural communities. Following publication of the government’s response to the Werritty Review of grouse moor management a joint statement has been issued by the British Association for Shooting and Conservation, Scottish Countryside Alliance, Scottish Gamekeepers’ Association, Scottish Association for Country Sports and Scottish Land & Estates. The statement says: “We are dismayed that the Scottish Government has not listened to the voice of some of our ...

The UK Angling Trades Association (ATA) has used its knowledge of lead fishing weight bans as part of a wider discussion about possible further restrictions on the substance. It joined others in the first round-table discussion on the use of lead in fishing tackle, arranged by the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) to enable key stakeholders in the European tackle trade to highlight key information for the forthcoming consultation possible lead restrictions in angling. During the meeting the ATA was able to give its views on the assumptions being made by ECHA and the drivers and ...

A new competition aimed at amateurs will run alongside the prestigious Euro Challenge and Home International. The Game Fair Gundog Working Test Champion will be crowned in July 2021. Qualifiers are now confirmed at Hertfordshire County Show, Garstang Show, Penistone Show, Cheshire Show, Lincolnshire Show with further club qualifiers and Irish qualifiers to be announced. The competition is split in to spaniels and retrievers, dogs do not need to be KC registered. Two spaniels and two retrievers from each qualifying round will be invited to compete for the grand title at The Game Fair. Both the Champion spaniel and ...

As the British Game Alliance works on plans for its attendance at The Game Fair 2021, we caught up with Liam Stokes, who was appointed CEO back in May, to discover his vision for the organisation and why we should all get on board. How would you explain the British Game Alliance’s aims and objectives to someone who has not come across the organisation before? We work for the British game meat sector and in that, alongside game farmers, processors and stockists, we include shoots of all sizes and models, because anyone who shoots game ...

The Game Fair is set to return to Ragley Hall, Warwickshire in July 2021 – on 23rd, 24th and 25th. Alongside the familiar and much loved event, organisers have teamed up with The Gun Trade Association to deliver a purpose built Trade Pavilion comprising of public access trade stands and trade only exhibition space which will only be accessible to invitees. Meeting rooms, business services and a new product showcase will also be featured. The venture, born following customer demand and feedback, will serve wholesale and B2B exhibitors from the gun trade. The Pavilion will ...

An exceptionally rare cased deluxe .34 percussion Colt Paterson no. 2 belt model revolver, made around 1840, is expected to fetch between £200,000 and £300,000 at the next Bonhams Antique Arms, Modern Sporting Guns and Exceptional Firearms auction. Found by Bonhams specialists during a routine house clearance in 2002, the revolver sold at Bonhams that same year for what was then a European record and is now reappearing on the market. It remains a mystery as to how the firearm ended up in the UK. The gun bears the serial number 576 and is considered one of ...

All major news networks carried the headline story yesterday morning as normal life is expected by next Spring. The mass vaccine programme is set to begin rolling out by Christmas prompting a surge of activity on the stock market. Exhibition organiser Informa plc was the third highest riser on the FTSE100 share index, a sign of increased confidence particularly within the events industry. Similarly, The Game Fair offices had a busy day with calls from exhibitors looking to book trade stands and secure sponsorships, and from visitors - bookings for camping and glamping are now at an ...

More than half of youngsters in London want to leave the city behind and head for the countryside, according to a survey by the Country Land and Business Association. The CLA, which represents almost 30,000 country businesses, surveyed 1,000 Londoners, with 55 per cent of 18 to 34-year-olds keen to quit the capital and head for rural towns and villages, especially in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. Cheaper housing, improved broadband and digital connectivity as well as the ease of working from home and better air quality were the key reasons for wanting a ...

Anglers have been told they can carry on fishing during the next four weeks of lockdown in England. Fishing’s governing body the Angling Trust says the latest regulations – which came into force last Thursday in England and are due to continue until December 2nd – mean the sport is classed as a permitted form of outdoor recreation. The rules also say that you can go fishing with other members of your household or your support bubble or one other individual, provided social distancing and other basic requirements are carried out. It does, however, mean ...

Top shooting ground E. J. Churchill will once again be operating the hugely popular Shooting Line at next summer’s Game Fair – while offering some new and exciting additions to the layout. At the same time, the High Wycombe-based ground, which earlier this year added a second venue at Swinton Estate in North Yorkshire, will be out in full force with a major presence on Gunmaker’s Row. E. J. Churchill Group managing director Rob Fenwick said: “We are thrilled to once again be partnering with The Game Fair and running its shooting line at Ragley ...

Mid-Wales sporting estate Bettws Hall has given £59,185 to the NHS Charities Together fund, which was the proceeds of a raffle to win a day’s shooting. The exclusive family-run business, best-known for its gamebird shooting, launched the fundraiser in April on the Just Giving platform, with the aim of raising £50,000 but that target was smashed by the time the winner was drawn last month (October). Bettws Hall managing director Gwyn Evans, revealed: “We didn’t ever imagine exceeding [that] when we first conjured up the idea. We were clapping for our carers one Thursday evening ...

Proudly standing under the Panshanger Great Oak in Hertfordshire, James Gower (pictured left), Managing Director of The Game Fair and Richard Woolliams, Commercial Director of Newhall Publishing, announced the launch of The Game Fair Society, the brand-new membership package and magazine from The Game Fair. The three-day festival of the countryside makes a much anticipated return to the familiar surroundings of Ragley Hall in Warwickshire on Friday 23rd to Sunday 25th July 2021. In the meantime – the seasons change, and we look to the future. With more people than ever before benefiting by visiting ...

For the first time in a major supermarket, the British Game Alliance Kitemark can now be found on game meat products sold in Sainsbury’s supermarkets across the country, reassuring customers of the provenance of the game meat products they are buying. Game meat bearing the British Game Alliance kitemark has been produced on estates subject to independently assured high welfare and environmental standards. This stamp of assurance gives consumers confidence in the traceability, sustainability and quality of the game they eat. The fact Sainsbury’s customers can find the kitemark while doing their supermarket shop is a huge ...

Rural communities are being asked to detail their experiences of policing and crime in the countryside as part of a major survey by the Scottish Countryside Alliance.  Crime has always been a key issue throughout the countryside but it has risen up the national agenda in recent weeks thanks to growing awareness of the problems that rural communities are facing.  One of the ways that the organisation is trying to spread awareness of these issues is by seeking the views of those who live in Scotland, and work in, or regularly visit, rural areas, on ...

Exhibitors can now reach The Game Fair’s customers all year round, with the launch of The Game Fair Shop, an online shopping mall specifically designed for the show’s partners… and it’s completely free to set up.  Anyone passionate about country pursuits can visit the dedicated online platform, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year, and browse your product ranges, buying them with the simple click of a button.  The Game Fair’s managing director, James Gower, explained: “The Game Fair Shop is the best way to reinforce your presence at the ...

London gunmaker John Rigby & Co has appointed two new gunmakers to its in-house team in response to a sustained increase in orders.  Metalwork specialist Bertrand Batoux, from the Champagne-Ardenne region of France previously worked for Belgian gunmaker Paul Plesters.  Meanwhile, Loick Desmanet has joined after working as a trainee at Belgian gunmaker Armurerie Delattre. Both new team members are graduates of the famous Liège School of Gunmaking.  Rigby’s managing director, Marc Newton, said: “The past 12 months have been busy and the orders are still coming in, so it has become necessary to increase ...

Thousands facing food poverty are set to benefit from a new partnership between The Game Fair and The Country Food Trust. The Country Food Trust, founded in 2015 to help feed people who live in food poverty in the UK with delicious and nutritious meals, has been appointed as Official Charity of The Game Fair for 2021. Activation of the partnership will begin immediately and will also include various fundraising streams in place at the festival of the countryside, to be held at Ragley Hall in Warwickshire from 23-25 July 2021. The Country Food Trust ...

Under guidance by the Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, The Game Fair will now not take place on the September 2020 dates as planned. “It is with great regret that I have had to make this decision” said James Gower, Managing Director of the Game Fair.  “Nigel Huddleston, MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary at Sport, Heritage and Tourism at the Department, wrote to me to confirm that there was “no guarantee” that the phased reopening would happen in time. “Without any such guarantee, it is with an extremely heavy heart that we bring have ...