British Game Assurance is the new name for the next stage of development of the BGA (formerly the British Game Alliance), as it builds a self-regulatory shield around game shooting.

The BGA says the scheme has already significantly boosted the sale of game across the UK.

CEO Liam Stokes explained: “Now Assurance is where it belongs, right up front as the name and core purpose of BGA.

“We commissioned a report over the summer investigating shifts in the game meat market over the three years that BGA has been in operation. “Our commercial director has broken down the figures and produced a report to be shared with all our registered dealers, processors and stockists.

“We hope that report will help these champions of game to target and plan their approach to selling game in the future but the headline figure is excellent news for everyone who loves shooting and the countryside: in the three years since BGA was created, the retail market for game has grown by 9.6 per cent.

“Notice that is the retail market alone. We do not have figures for hospitality and I would expect that those figures have been in retreat as Covid has battered restaurants, pubs and hotels over the past 18 months.

“But are they much higher than they would have been were it not for the efforts of the BGA team and the excellent registered processors and dealers we work with?

“We can’t say for sure, but recent announcements of British Game Assured meat on the menu in Thwaites, Peach Pubs and Drake and Morgan would suggest BGA efforts are boosting the market for game beyond even that 10 per cent growth in retail.

“This may cause people to ask when this growth will trickle down to the shoot gate. ‘Where is the cash for my birds?’ is a common refrain. BGA does not, and will not, set prices. We promote, we develop. We work to secure a market for the wonderful game our registered shoots produce. Because every new consumer of game is a new friend of shooting.

“We cannot continue to grow this market without more shoots registered for British Game Assurance. These new stockists are only interested in new lines of game because of the peace of mind that Assurance provides. And, happily, every shoot that registers for British Game Assurance, whether they sell game or not, is also helping to build the self-regulatory shield around game shooting.

“Finally, a huge thank you to the shoots, agents and guns who have already contributed levy donations for the current season. That 50p per bird really does make you an Investor in Standards (don’t forget to claim you badge!) and facilitates so much of the work we do.

“If you are able to contribute to our work by collecting or paying the levy, we would be ever so grateful.”

www.britishgamealliance.co.uk