Shooters have been encouraged to support a repeal of the fox hunting ban after Prime Minister Theresa May pledged to give MPs a free vote on the issue. Mrs May…
Mark Layton
News Editor Shooting Times
Vinnie Jones: “The best times of my life have been working as a gamekeeper …”
Film star and devoted countryman Vinnie Jones was a guest speaker at the final Gamekeepers’ Welfare Trust (GWT) Gamekeeping for Life conference earlier this month. The Lock, Stock and Two…
£100k for Humber wildlife
Barton on Humber Wildfowlers Club has secured a £100,000 loan from the Wildlife Habitat Charitable Trust (WHCT) to turn 16 acres of arable farmland into wetland habitat to benefit species…
Top talent awarded on 100-bird layout
Eric Pritchard was awarded the Shooting Times Trophy at the RBSS Handicap Challenge last week. The annual clayshooting event, which this year was sponsored by Shooting Times publisher Time Inc…
Met hands over gun owners’ home addresses
Home addresses of around 30,000 London firearm and shotgun owners have been handed over to external marketing agencies by the Metropolitan Police in what BASC described as a “potentially serious…
Drama at the Rural Oscars
Rural businesses from across England and Wales were celebrated at the 12th annual Countryside Alliance Awards at the House of Lords two weeks ago — a happy event that took…
Police donation to BASC funds school trips on grouse moors
North Yorkshire Police has donated £3,000 to BASC, which will be used to enable hundreds of primary school children to experience first-hand the work done on conservation on grouse moors…
A victory for common sense over EU gun laws
These proposals have been under consideration and ongoing debate for more than two years and originally included changes criticised as unnecessarily restrictive. Plans to tighten European gun laws were made…
Tories say STOP! to anti-shooting foundation
The chairman of the Conservative Party, the Rt Hon Sir Patrick McLoughlin MP, has told the anti-shooting Conservative Animal Welfare Foundation (CAWF) to stop using the party logo and to…
Dog breeders limited to two puppy litters annually
Dog breeders will be limited to just two litters a year under strict new animal welfare laws announced by DEFRA secretary Andrea Leadsom this month. Strict welfare criteria Anyone breeding and selling three or more…
Firearms licensing still a “postcode lottery”
The 2015 Her Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary (HMIC) report Targeting the risk concluded that the application of firearms licensing in England and Wales is “inconsistent and inadequate” with a wide…
Why cartridge prices are rising
Speaking to Shooting Times, David Bontoft, managing director of premium brand Hull Cartridge, said that despite widespread talk of “nasty cartridge people”, the price rises were unavoidable due to the…
Wildfowling club granted £35,000 loan
The Wildlife Habitat Trust (WHT) has granted Clevedon Wildfowling Association a £35,000 loan to buy a plot of land, which the club says will support wildfowling “for generations to come”.…
Anti-shooting proposals in “Tory” group manifesto
The Countryside Alliance (CA) has called on the Conservative Party to distance itself from an animal welfare group that it says is “masquerading” as part of the party. The Conservative…
League Against Cruel Sports claims shooting industry to blame for bird flu outbreak
Eduardo Goncalves, LACS chief executive, said the outbreaks were “inevitable” because “the number of birds used by the shooting industry each year is a disaster waiting to happen. More pheasants and partridges…
Clumber spaniel wins AV field trial
A Clumber spaniel won an any variety field trial last month — the first time this breed has done so in living history and only the second time since field trials began. The victory…
When it’s best not to shoot woodcock
The Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT) has published a short guide detailing when and when not to shoot woodcock. The British breeding population of this wading bird is on the red list of…
RSPB officer attacks GWCT
Rural organisations are concerned that the RSPB considers itself to be “at war” with moorland managers, following a highly critical public presentation by one of its senior officers. Speaking to…
No more hiding for activists as police gain unmasking powers
The House of Lords passed an amendment to the Policing and Crime Bill last month that will make it easier for the police to unmask violent protesters. The amendment was made in response to concerns…
Sprocker or cocker? Row rocks Kennel Club
The Sun recently reported that rival competitors have called for DNA tests to prove the breed of field trial champion bitch Mallowdale Diamond, which was given to the Queen as a…