Following the latest changes in restrictions across the UK, broadly speaking, people are still able to go fishing and tackle shops, charter boats and fisheries are open for business. However, there are variations to the rules in different countries as regards travel and some openings but overall it’s great news for the tackle industry as we head towards Christmas. The Angling Trust’s CEO Jamie Cook has issued the following advice for fishing in England. We are pleased that ministers appreciate both the importance and safety of outdoor recreation and organised sport and that the plan ...

Game and clay shooting look set to carry on in many parts of the UK, subject to Tier restrictions, while those engaged in pest control should also be able to continue. The changes in rules will also mean that many gun shops have been able to reopen. However, since the rules vary from devolved region to devolved region and in different tiers, here is an overview of the British Association for Shooting and Conservation’s and the Countryside Alliance’s understanding of the current situation. ENGLAND From December 2nd, subject to following strict Covid-19 guidelines, organised outdoor ...

Bookings are flooding in for next July’s Game Fair at Ragley Hall, following the Government’s announcement that the events sector should get back to normal by Easter. Delivering a keynote speech at the Major Events Summit as the UK became the first country in the world to approve the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, Oliver Dowden, the secretary of state for the Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, said he expected a return to normality for the events industry by Easter. He added that the Government’s Winter Plan which enables venues in Tier 1 and Tier 2 ...

Night vision and thermal imaging expert Pulsar, distributed by Thomas Jacks, will be sponsoring the new optics village at The Game Fair 2021. We caught up with Thomas Jacks’ marketing manager, Lee Adams, to find out more about its plans. Firstly, Lee, it’s been a ‘different’ year to say the least. What has Thomas Jacks and Pulsar been up to you in that time? Despite the interruptions bestowed upon us this year, Thomas Jacks’ business has remained constant and there has been no shortage of new products released from Pulsar. Towards the beginning of the ...

An exceptional Kell-engraved lightweight 12-bore 'Spring-Opener' sidelock ejector gun by Henry Atkin, is among the eye-catching lots in Bonhams Antique Arms, Modern Sporting Guns and Exceptional Firearms sale in London on Thursday, December 3rd. Built in 1948 to the specifications of Gough Thomas, one of the leading authorities on guns and shooting of the day and a writer in Shooting Times, the gun is estimated at £10,000-15,000. Thomas’ order was quite particular, demanding Atkin “guarantee that in respect of materials, workmanship, finish and shooting qualities, the gun will conform to your highest pre-war standards,” before adding: “although I am very critical, I ...

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 ...