Shooting should be one of the first activities to be allowed when the lockdown is eased, rural groups have said.

The Countryside Alliance has sent a letter to the environment secretary, George Eustice, saying shooting is “hugely important to the rural economy”.

The alliance and the British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC) agree that shooting should be one of the first pursuits given the green light when the coronavirus lockdown eases.

Shooting supports the equivalent of 74,000 full-time jobs around the UK and provides £2bn to the UK economy and £250m to conservation projects, both groups said.

In a letter, Countryside Alliance chief executive Tim Bonner said rural communities had “risen to meet these challenging times” and he supported efforts to slow the spread of COVID-19.

However, he said the economic impact had been severe.

Mr Bonner said: “Given the nature of shooting sports, and the way in which shooting activities are conducted, it is clear that they can take place with the necessary social distancing, and would not jeopardise the government’s efforts in tackling this pandemic.

“Enabling shooting to take place would be an enormous boost to the rural part of the economy.”

BASC’s Garry Doolan told Sky News that pest control and deer management in particular should be at the front of the queue when restrictions are eased because they are “essential activities, which are generally undertaken alone”.

The impact of deer on flora and fauna can be devastating if they are not managed, while pigeons can cause severe crop damage – up to £5m a year, according to Defra research.

A large part of shooting is the gamebird season, with gamekeepers, land owners and agents planning now for the start of the grouse season on 12 August, and the pheasant, partridge and wildfowl season start in September and October.

Shoots are ordering their birds now and there are concerns people will not commit until the rules are clearer, meaning a massive loss in revenue.

Christopher Beatson-Hird, head of the Greater Exmoor Shoot Association, said: “Restrictions on shooting will have a severe impact in the Exmoor area.

“Shooting contributes more than £30m to the local economy. This is larger than all agricultural subsidies.

“The area is largely upland, where agriculture provides subsistence returns, and livelihoods are consequently dependent on income derived from other sources, of which shooting is a very major component.”

Source: Read Full Article