BASC. An investment idea?

I don't want to speak for the BASC employees on this site, but I know that there's quite a strong tendency now within the organisation to try and use some of the cash in the bank for a programme of land acquisition to ensure access to places to shoot, in the same way as some wildfowling clubs have been doing for years. There are also those who oppose this use of the money for reasons that don't make a massive amount of sense to me.
 
The decision rests with the elected Council of BASC and I know its a topic of discussion at the moment.

Always remember there is also with WHT grants and loans too which are available to clubs to use to buy land for shooting and conservation projects. The land in these cases remains in the hands of the club of course.

Just a thought, but is it not better for BASC to work with its members to help them find secure and develop shooting, rather than spending say £2m buying a farm that will only give shooting access to a relatively small number of members?

Personally I am open minded but would err towards whatever is best for helping the majority.
David
 
Personally I am open minded but would err towards whatever is best for helping the majority.
David

Well great things have small beginnings... But I'd say that the single biggest threat to shooting of all kinds over the long term isn't firearms legislation or public opposition (I think that we'll eventually come to a mutually acceptable compromise on much of this stuff), it's loss of access to places to shoot and indeed loss of habitat which could make shooting unsustainable. Shooting isn't the most economically viable use of most land in the big picture, so in the end, the only way of ensuring that it remains used for shooting is to own it. Having it owned by one or several bodies dedicated to helping their membership to access shooting, starting with young people and newcomers, and those of more limited means, would make shooting not only seem less elitist, but actually be less so. Everyone wins. Except for those who want to hog all the shooting for themselves.
 
but I know that there's quite a strong tendency now within the organisation to try and use some of the cash in the bank for a programme of land acquisition to ensure access to places to shoot,

Of course, you wouldn't need to acquire the land, only the shooting rights - you could even buy the land, then sell on without the rights.

Perhaps targetting estate owners who are likely to hand land over to charitable purposes like the national trust to avoid death duties etc might be a viable proposal - you could even hand the estate to the NT, and the shooting rights to BASC to ensure that shooting continued in perpetuity, given the landowners whose wishes were shafted over on NT land in the past?
 
Of course, you wouldn't need to acquire the land, only the shooting rights - you could even buy the land, then sell on without the rights.

Perhaps targetting estate owners who are likely to hand land over to charitable purposes like the national trust to avoid death duties etc might be a viable proposal - you could even hand the estate to the NT, and the shooting rights to BASC to ensure that shooting continued in perpetuity, given the landowners whose wishes were shafted over on NT land in the past?

​Excellent idea.
 
Yes I take your point, and I could not agree more that getting formal shooting rights is the way to go to protect our access to shooting. It may well be that BASC buying some land will be part of the mix, but at the same time we would always encourage our members to make sure they have a shooting lease and if they want any help with that they can call on our land management team.
David
 
Of course, you wouldn't need to acquire the land, only the shooting rights - you could even buy the land, then sell on without the rights.

I did raise this point at the 2012 AGM, not sure it went down very well with John Swift but might gain a bit more traction with with Richard Ali.

David.
 
Swift was a dinosaur...'my way is the only way'...now he is gone and Richard Ali appears far more forward thinking.

​I also hear that the 'dead wood' within the organisation may be job hunting soon. Times are changing.
 
Not really, constructive comments on the whole. Yes times are changing and yes it will all be for the better.

The point is that shooting rights need to be secured, or they will be lost. BASC has a role to play of course, not least of all with expert help and advice on leases, funding etc. But ultimately you guys must make sure your existing rights are safe and sound.
David
 
This is what the fox hunts have been doing for years, you try and buy a bit of land or woodland around here without the clause to allow unrestricted access to the Essex and Suffolk Foxhounds and followers.

EDIT: just found the text I read on a title deed for one particular bit of woodland I looked at.

"THE Assignor as beneficial owner hereby grants unto the Grantees
and their successors in title for them to exercise through the
Essex and Suffolk Hunt or such other Fox Hounds as shall hunt the
area of Woodland hereinafter described the exclusive right in
perpetuity of entering upon the woodland belonging to the Assignor
in the Parish of xxxxx comprising approximately xxxxxxxxxx Acres As the same is for identification only delineated
on the plan annexed hereto and thereon edged pink for the purpose
of hunting killing and removing foxes"
 
Last edited:
Swift was a dinosaur...'my way is the only way'...now he is gone and Richard Ali appears far more forward thinking.

​I also hear that the 'dead wood' within the organisation may be job hunting soon. Times are changing.

Nothing like a breath of fresh air...a change is as good as a rest!

I think there needs to be a lot more forward thinking in the light of possible "investment opportunities"
 
but at the same time we would always encourage our members to make sure they have a shooting lease and if they want any help with that they can call on our land management team.
David

David, as a constructive comment - I would argue that the real importance of acquiring shooting rights to secure them is the fact that a lot of people just can't afford a shooting lease, its a huge dissuader against people coming into the sport - and the crucially important factor is that we need more people (and not just a wealthy elite) in the sport to secure its future in an increasingly hostile environment with organised and well funded anti lobby and a predominantly urban populace.
 
Back
Top