Shooters are being asked to reduce the number of migrant woodcock they shoot due to the species’ poor breeding season. Andrew Hoodless, head of wetland research at the Game &…
Mark Layton
News Editor Shooting Times
Game industry cuts antibiotic use
Reduction in antibiotics in meat from game Shooting and game bird organisations have welcomed a big fall in the number of antibiotics used in the rearing of pheasants and partridges…
This is why you’ll probably get your shotgun licence faster in future
New application forms for shotgun certificates and firearms licences will ask whether an applicant has ever been diagnosed or treated for a relevant medical condition, removing ambiguity around the current…
Bywell estate shoot wins 2017 Gold Purdey Award
The Bywell shoot in Northumberland has won the 2017 Purdey Gold Award for Game and Conservation. Bywell estate owners Viscount Allendale and his son, the Hon Wentworth Beaumont, along with…
Field editor made Master of Worshipful Gunmakers
Jonathan Young, editor of The Field magazine and group shooting editor at Time Inc UK Specialist, where he oversees Shooting Times, has been installed as Master of the Worshipful Company…
Hundreds hunt for the first time
Hundreds of people took to the field for the first time during Hunting Newcomers’ Week last month. The annual event, organised by the Countryside Alliance (CA), ran from 21 to…
Gamekeepers and beekeepers work together on moorland heather
A new film explores how Scottish grouse estates are supporting local businesses, by teaming up with honey producers to give bees access to managed heather. Estates in Tayside, the Angus…
Don’t throw away money by handing in antique guns, says expert
BASC is asking shooters to check for “cash in the attic” in the form of unwanted guns, rather than handing them in. The call comes following the current national firearms…
Make your views count. Vote for the best of British game
The shooting, game meat and hospitality sectors have come together, with leading British businesses James Purdey & Sons, Boisdale Restaurants and Taste of Game teaming up to launch the inaugural…
£190k raised for Great Ormond Street at charity shoot
The Royal Berkshire Shooting School (RBSS) has raised £190,000 for Great Ormond Street Hospital and Marie Curie at its 20th annual charity clay pigeon shoot. The event, which has been…
Scottish estates urged to seek rates relief
Scottish landowners are being urged to take advantage of rates relief to avoid paying “eye-watering” new sporting fees. Scottish Assessors has issued notices to around 6,500 landowners after repealing rates…
UK declared bird flu-free
The UK has met the international requirements to be called bird flu-free, but the Government’s top vet has urged all poultry keepers to remain vigilant. Between December 2016 and June…
BASC appoints new chief executive
BASC has appointed a new chief executive, due to join the team in February 2018. Ian Bell, a brigadier in the British Army, will take up the role at BASC…
Scottish keepers restore wild grey partridges
Wild grey partridges have been returned to the Tomatin moors in Inverness-shire thanks to local gamekeepers and some unusual help from bantam chickens. Wild greys had not been seen on…
Wildfowling Club of the Year award now open for entries
The purpose of Shooting Times’s new award is to highlight the incredible contribution made by fowlers across the UK. Wildfowling Club of the Year award now open for entries Editor…
Salmon facing myriad threats
A huge decline in the number of young wild salmon returning to British rivers could lead to a national shortage, according to the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT). For…
Gamekeepers old and new rewarded for their work
Trainee keeper Jack Depledge from North Yorkshire has won this year’s National Gamekeepers’ Organisation (NGO) Frank Jenkins Memorial Trophy. The award, which is sponsored by Musto, is given to the…
War of the words as hen harrier tag goes quiet
Rural groups have rejected claims that grouse moor managers were responsible for the disappearance of a hen harrier. RSPB Scotland says a satellite-tagged bird, named Calluna, vanished over an Aberdeenshire…
Scottish gamekeepers back new Lyme disease measures
The Scottish Parliament is considering improvements to testing and treatment for Lyme disease, thanks to a petition supported by gamekeepers and grouse moor managers. The Tick-borne Illness Campaign Scotland seeks…
Time for tougher penalties for fly-tipping, says CLA
The CLA has proposed tougher measures to tackle the increasing problem of fly-tipping in the countryside. It suggests a new five-point action plan, which includes seizing vehicles of offenders to…