Conor O'Gorman
Well-Known Member
The southern gamekeeping conference, held at the Great Fulford Estate near Exeter on 28 March, was the final gamekeepers’ event in a series of three run by BASC over the past month. The day followed on from the northern gamekeeping conference on 14 March and its sister event at Blair Castle in Perthshire on 24 March. Both the southern and northern conferences were kindly supported by optic specialists, Hikmicro.
Seventy attendees joined a range of expert speakers for a morning session of talks and speeches on issues pertinent to shooting and conservation.
The keynote speech was delivered by Liberal Democrat MP for Tiverton and Minehead, Rachel Gilmour. Rachel spoke of her support for shooting and its importance to the local area, saying: “I have several shoots in my constituency, some of them commercial, and I also have smaller ‘DIY’ shoots. I know that shooting is a really important part of people’s lives. In terms of the local economy, if anything happened to shooting – particularly for the Devon side of my constituency and on Exmoor – it would be disastrous in terms of employment and skills lost.”
Rachel also spoke of the importance of shoot-led conservation and the role of shooting in sustaining the environment and the landscape. She stressed the need to put forward evidence-based reasoning, commenting: “People make very emotive arguments for and against what we enjoy doing in the countryside. The more you emotion you can take out, and the more fact, science and statistics you have to offer, leaves it more difficult for them [opponents of shooting] just to use emotion.”
She went on to highlight BASC’s role in political affairs, saying: “The fact that you’re a membership organisation gives you great credibility, because you represent the grassroots. If you are a member, make your voice heard, use your [BASC’s] political affairs team, and keep on doing the super job you’re doing.”
Chief Constable for Devon and Cornwall Police, Robin Curtis, provided valuable insight and perspective into suitability reviews and revocations, answering questions during the section of the day dedicated to firearms licensing.
There is much more information and photos in the link below.
basc.org.uk
Seventy attendees joined a range of expert speakers for a morning session of talks and speeches on issues pertinent to shooting and conservation.
The keynote speech was delivered by Liberal Democrat MP for Tiverton and Minehead, Rachel Gilmour. Rachel spoke of her support for shooting and its importance to the local area, saying: “I have several shoots in my constituency, some of them commercial, and I also have smaller ‘DIY’ shoots. I know that shooting is a really important part of people’s lives. In terms of the local economy, if anything happened to shooting – particularly for the Devon side of my constituency and on Exmoor – it would be disastrous in terms of employment and skills lost.”
Rachel also spoke of the importance of shoot-led conservation and the role of shooting in sustaining the environment and the landscape. She stressed the need to put forward evidence-based reasoning, commenting: “People make very emotive arguments for and against what we enjoy doing in the countryside. The more you emotion you can take out, and the more fact, science and statistics you have to offer, leaves it more difficult for them [opponents of shooting] just to use emotion.”
She went on to highlight BASC’s role in political affairs, saying: “The fact that you’re a membership organisation gives you great credibility, because you represent the grassroots. If you are a member, make your voice heard, use your [BASC’s] political affairs team, and keep on doing the super job you’re doing.”
Chief Constable for Devon and Cornwall Police, Robin Curtis, provided valuable insight and perspective into suitability reviews and revocations, answering questions during the section of the day dedicated to firearms licensing.
There is much more information and photos in the link below.
BASC southern gamekeeping conference held at Great Fulford Estate
The Great Fulford Estate in Devon provided a stunning backdrop for the first BASC gamekeeping conference held in the south west of England.
basc.org.uk
