Ideal weather conditions for partridge brood rearing in recent months look set to be translated into impressive numbers of birds this year in Scotland. The Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust – which is behind the Scottish Game Fair – has started its annual partridge count early and is now encouraging other landowners to take part to help assess the current situation. As farmers know, dry growing conditions are excellent for cereal production and this meant that the landscape changed, from luscious greens to golden browns, much earlier than usual. It has also meant great partridge brood-rearing ...

The Wildlife Habitat Charitable Trust (WHCT) has pledged €17,000 in funding for the sustainable management of key habitats for breeding and migratory populations of waterbirds in Lithuania. The grant will enable country-wide bird surveys and the preparation of special management plans for a network of manmade wetland habitats in the form of large fishpond complexes in the country. This funding is stage two of a project aimed at protecting the habitat and breeding grounds of the common pochard in Lithuania, following an €18,000 WHCT grant in 2018. Work will begin in the new year. Project co-ordinator Dr Saulius ...

After a dismal year because of Covid-19, the coming season has finally begun to look brighter, game days are sought after, and it seems that some form of normality is returning. That’s the view of the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust’s game and wildlife advisor for Central England, Alex Keeble. However, the weather has failed to be as bright as hoped, arable crops are still yet to be combined, along with various hay fields, making wandering released pheasants a challenge to dog back to the surrounding pens. Alex said: “From experience, it is best not to ...

The British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC) has responded to the Senedd Economy, Trade and Rural Affairs Committee consultation, asking for an enquiry to be undertaken into the contribution shooting makes to the Welsh economy. BASC has asked that the enquiry also considers the Welsh Government’s policy towards shooting, following recent correspondence from the Economy Minister indicating that the Welsh Government does not support sustainable shooting. Bronwen Gardner, BASC’s public affairs manager for Wales, said: “Shooting activities in Wales contribute £75 million to the Welsh economy, supporting 2,900 shooting-related businesses across the country and directly ...

John Queen spent his childhood during its halcyon days as son of the headkeeper at Scone Palace, the venue for the GWCT Scottish Game Fair. Now head gamekeeper at the Linhope estate in Northumberland, John recalls Scone as a special place where you could pursue every species in the game book and has great memories of a carefree time in the safe environment of the countryside. John revealed: “Estate life to me is like a big warm comfortable safe blanket wrapped around you on a cold January day, an experience I believe every child should have ...

With rural crime seemingly on the increase, Perthshire company Farmstream was set up just 18 months ago to offer affordable and effective CCTV and livestock monitoring systems to farms and other businesses in remote locations. When Eddie McDiarmid first investigated installing CCTV on the family farm, the cost of outsourcing an electrician for install was simply not feasible to him or many in the farming community. With rising rural crime rates, a hole in the market for self-install affordable CCTV systems was recognised and Farmstream was born. Eddie and fellow engineering student Callum Hay began the ...

A review of rules surrounding the shooting and trapping of birds in Wales has just been launched and shooters, keepers and landowners are being urged to make their views known. Government-backed body, Natural Resources Wales, says the public consultation will look at its approach to the issues along with the destruction of eggs and nests but stresses it is open to various proposals. All wild birds in Wales have legal protection. Natural Resources Wales (NRW) has a number of powers under which it can authorise others to kill or take particular species of wild birds, eggs ...

The UK’s Health and Safety Executive is asking for evidence on lead ammunition as part of the Government’s review into its impact on the environment, wildlife and people. The British Association for Shooting and Conservation has confirmed this week that it will be responding to this call. The HSE’s evidence request  is one of a series of public consultations being held over the next 18 months under the UK’s post-Brexit chemical regulations referred to as ‘UK REACH’. The eight-week call for evidence covers England, Wales and Scotland. Dan Reynolds, BASC’s director England, said: “BASC will be ...

Key names are already planning what they will be showcasing at this November’s World Gunmakers’ Evening, set to take place in the historic setting of the Tower Of London. Among those who have already pledged their support are James Purdey & Sons, shooting supplier William Powell, Longthorne Gunmakers, Edgar Brothers, German rifle maker Karl Hauptmann, round-action Scottish gunmaker John Dickson & Son and cigar specialist Robusto House. The World Gunmakers’ Evening will bring together discerning clientele and some of best and most exclusive gunmakers and associated suppliers on the evening of Wednesday, November 3rd in a ...

National waterways and wellbeing charity, the Canal & River Trust, is encouraging young people to join a new programme to help shape its future direction and broaden the waterways’ appeal to all ages. The Trust, which looks after 2,000 miles of waterways across England and Wales, has traditionally had an older supporter base but the Youth Fellowship Programme will help gain the fresh perspectives that younger people can bring and will create a pathway for a new generation of waterway supporters and enthusiasts. The voluntary 12-month programme will support more young people, aged 18 to 25, ...

The North Coast 500 takes in the best of the Scottish Highlands and there’s never been an easier way to enjoy it, thanks to recently launched Highland Overland – which rents out premium 4x4s and all the kit for your adventure. From the spectacular cliffs of Caithness to the white, sandy beaches of Wester Ross, Scotland’s North Coast 500 route really does offer an inspirational journey for adventure lovers. And Highland Overland is there to help you every step of the way. Pick up your fully loaded premium Nissan Navarra 4x4 from Inverness Airport and head ...

The amount of young salmon leaving the River Frome is the highest in eight years, with numbers up by 40 per cent in 2020 on the 10-year average. However, the Fisheries Research Review from the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT), which detailed the numbers, also warned that climate change is having an impact on them. According to the latest figures, an estimated 13,062 salmon smolts left the River Frome, showing signs of hope for their long-term future in Dorset’s River Frome. Time will tell how many of these fish return to the river from the North Atlantic in 2021 ...

A new scientific paper into the social, mental and wellbeing attributes of those who participate in game shooting has been highlighted as significant by the British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC). The new paper, published in the journal Ageing & Society, concludes that participation in shooting and shooting-related activities, such as beating and picking-up, results in a significantly better mental wellbeing than the national average. The findings are derived from a PhD Thesis undertaken at the Institute for Social Innovation and Impact at the University of Northampton. Items that scored high included reduced loneliness, strong identity a sense ...

The Glorious Twelfth – the start of the grouse season in the UK – begins today (August 12th), with other game including partridge and wild duck coming in soon. To celebrate, Wild and Game, the Bristol-based company selling wild game across the UK via its website and retail stockists, has released four easy game recipes and more information why eating game is such a good food and lifestyle choice. Wild game is free from the hormones and other additives found in some farmed meats. These birds and animals are free to roam and forage naturally, resulting ...

Some people are entrenched in the history of The Game Fair and few more so than renowned fly angler (not to mention artist and author) Charles Jardine who stepped down from the Casting Pool platform at the end of this year’s show. After 38 years of fly-casting demonstrations, Charles has decided to move aside and encourage younger blood into the arena. He won’t be leaving The Game Fair scene entirely – he will continue to have a presence at The Game Fair with his charities Fishing For Schools and Castaway (the latter launched during the weekend) ...

Key UK rural organisations launched a formal partnership to promote the many conservation and community benefits that make the countryside a better place for all to enjoy. The launch of ‘Aim to Sustain’ was revealed at The Game Fair last Friday and the partnership highlight the crucial role that sustainable game shooting plays in delivering biodiversity net gain through preserving and protecting cherished rural landscapes and a tremendous array of wildlife. It will also focus on showcasing the contribution that game management makes to sustaining rural communities, providing high quality food and making the countryside a place that visitors ...

The Game Fair at Ragley Hall, Warwickshire, proved to be a roaring success as it made a spectacular return for 2021. To almost universal acclaim from exhibitors, sponsors and a staggering 119,378 visitors alike, the event became a true celebration of a return to some form of normality. Exhibitors revelled in the opportunity to meet customers face to face, many for the first time in almost 18 months, while visitors couldn’t get enough of the chance to get hands on with the latest products, clothing, jewellery, art and much more, not to mention sampling some amazing ...

The Game Fair experienced the busiest ever opening day in its 62-year history, bringing a total of 119,378 people across all three days back together safely to enjoy the festival of the Great British countryside once again. Following ‘Freedom Day’, The Game Fair was the first large-scale event in Britain. Despite forecasts of thunderstorms and torrential rain for Saturday and Sunday, but the weather was perfect, encouraging many visitors to stay until closing time on Sunday evening. Among them were passionate countryside enthusiasts who return year after year to enjoy top-level shooting; the best gundog competitions ...

Tarmac is proud to be sponsoring this year’s Game Fair Show Garden. The theme for the garden is ‘smart’, which will incorporate several different perspectives including the integration of smart modern technology into the garden environment, intelligent design that mitigates the effects of a changing climate, making more efficient use of limited space to produce fruit and vegetables, as well as designing a garden that has ecological friendliness and sustainability at its heart. The garden has been designed by students from Pershore College, renowned nationally as a centre of horticultural excellence, and Moreton Morrell College, Warwickshire’s ...