Shooters can now receive an eight-week extension to firearm and shotgun certificate renewals under certain circumstances, in a move that it is hoped will reduce the existing backlog in renewals.…
Mark Layton
News Editor Shooting Times
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Licensing fees under review
The Home Office is exploring an increase in licensing fees for firearms. The minister responsible for firearms licensing, Nick Hurd MP, recently confirmed in a written answer to a Parliamentary…
Stark choice for game industry on antibiotics
A coalition of shooting and veterinary groups has urged the game sector to make further cuts to antibiotic use in game birds. A joint statement has been released by the…
New gun laws could have ‘unintended consequences’
The Countryside Alliance (CA) and BASC have both warned of “unintended consequences” for shooters stemming from the Government’s proposed new Offensive Weapons Bill. Announced by the Home Office earlier this…
Police boss wants to increase firearms and shotgun certificate fees
In another blow to the shooting community, a senior police official has called on the Government to increase the fees charged to applicants for firearms and shotgun certificates. David Jamieson,…
Queen makes donation in support of gamekeepers
HM The Queen has shown her support for the fieldsports community by making a donation to the Gamekeepers’ Welfare Trust. The gift to the charity was revealed following the Trust’s…
Government ‘betrayal’ on GP fees for new licences
Proposals to make every gun owner pay a fee to their GP when applying for a shotgun or firearm certificate have been declared as a betrayal by Government. Following a…
Woodcock need a reprieve during cold, say experts
Shooters across Europe have been advised to reduce the number of woodcock they shoot during cold weather. New research suggests that for every four consecutive days of frozen conditions, the…
Government has no plans to license grouse shooting
The Government has highlighted the importance of shooting and said it has no intention to licence driven grouse shooting after responding to an online petition. The petition, which received the…
Scotland seeks to solve salmon crisis
The Scottish Government has pledged £700,000 to tackle declining wild salmon stocks. With survival rates for salmon at sea having dropped to just five per cent, ministers say that the…
London Wing Shooting Fair takes flight
The inaugural London Wing Shooting Fair, to be held at the Business Design Centre in Islington, is just days away. Co-founder John Kelley was inspired to create the show following…
Game meat sent to those in need
Thousands of people struggling with food poverty have had a hot meal of pheasant or partridge to eat over the past two years thanks to the charitable work of the…
Orvis launches campaign for female flyfishers
Fieldsports brand Orvis has launched a new campaign to encourage more women to take up flyfishing and “advance gender parity” in the sport. The 50/50 on the Water initiative seeks…
Review of firearms licensing in Scotland drives call for improvements
HMICS has powers to look into the “state, effectiveness and efficiency” of both the Police Scotland and the Scottish Police Authority (SPA). It said that while firearms licensing in Scotland…
Big plans for game market
An initiative has been proposed with the intention of promoting the consumption of game and maintaining shoot standards. Expected to launch in mid-April, the British Game Alliance (BGA) is being…
Obey law or risk losing lead
Shooters have been warned that disobeying regulations on the use of lead shot could result in further restrictions. Lead shot is banned on the foreshore in England and Wales and…
Badger culls may expand, then end
The Government is to review its 25-year bovine tuberculosis (TB) strategy, with suggestions that it will expand its badger culls, before moving away from the practice in later phases of…
Shooters oppose unjust airgun law
Further restrictions on airgun use in England and Wales would be “disproportionate” and “bad law”. That is the firm response from shooting groups as the Home Office draws its review…
Labour Party proposes a ban on “intensive rearing”
The Labour Party’s proposed animal welfare plan, which includes a pledge to “promote high standards with regards to game shoots”, has had a mixed reception from rural groups. Published on…
Help keep shooting on Welsh land
Shooters are being asked to help decide the future of fieldsports on Natural Resources Wales (NRW) land after new proposals for firearms use were revealed. These came about following a…