How is the British Game Alliance financed?

[Kalahari]

It might be in the interests of all field sports enthsiasts to increase consumption of game. The more people who eat game makes it possible that they will be less taken in by the anti field sports polemic! So if they are supporting the BGA the BASC might be doing us all a favour. Perhaps this is at least worth thinking about.

David.

 

[countrryboy]

Not sure how I feel about this all.

The BGA is the right way to go althou how effective it actually is ( like basc itself) talks a great game but does very little.
The idea is right possibly the underhand sneaky way the go about it definately seems dodgy thou.


Should the game dealers not be promoting game themselves or do they only reap the rewards and shaft shooters when the easy markets dry up ( but still charging top dollar for finished product, really wasn't that long ago they were paying decent money for birds)

U can say wot u like about JRs or any off the many other legal areas basc and others are letting us down.

But it is all really irrelevant if we can not find a market for game shooting is finished.
This is not just a problem for the 'big bag' shoots everyone likes to moan about, I know off plenty DIY syndicates shooting 30-50 head that struggle to get rid off all the birds after 1 or 2 shoots.
Birds not entering food chain will finish released bird shooting quickier than anything else.

And as has been seen very recently with the venision markets too, dealers paying bugger all for them. And deer needing culled.

The only way round it I can see is local big shoots forming co operatives to process game and deer that way they can afford to sell finished product cheaper as they need to move more game not keeping prices artificially high the way game dealers are now.
Possibly that's where the BGA would come in marketing on a UK level but it all depends how good they are.

Beefy had the right idea a few years ago and seen this coming, he donated some cash to make his game from his shoots into ready meals for homeless.
Ready meals or semi ready meat is the way to go as so few folk can really cook nowadays

 

[Sharpie]

If it was indeed a loan, then there surely must be some intention of paying it back over some years, at a sensible rate of interest, funded by some sort of improbable scheme. Such as a voluntary contribution of 50p/bird shot, or a company rate based on numbers.

To become part of some improbable scheme. Policed by Lloyds Register as they claim ? No, that is, I am quite sure, fiction, along with any claims that game handling establishments have the ability and machinery to extract lead shot, or more, from game. I do not believe that such technology exists.

Nor do I think that Lloyds register participate in such sorts of quality assurance schemes, nor have the interest, nor the qualified personnel to do so.

If I could be bothered I'd try contacting the people listed on their rambling, incoherent, illiterate, miss-spelled website to try to discover what it's all about.

Maybe starting with Liam Stokes, their new CEO

Assurance - Aim to Sustain

AIM TO SUSTAIN GAME ASSURANCE: What is Aim to Sustain Game Assurance?Aim to Sustain Game Assurance is a voluntary game assurance scheme that provides evidence for game shoots, estates and game farms who are members, that they have been certified to demanding standards. Certified shoots, estates...

www.britishgamealliance.co.uk

Then continuing on to the list of grandees who have apparently put their names behind this. Starting here:

Such as listed at Key Personnel | British Game Alliance

It does rather come across as a badly thought through and poorly executed attempt to monetise a subject of some interest. Somewhere I read on one of their pages that they wanted to compare themselves with the "Red Tractor" scheme. Well that went well did it not ? Anyone remember them ?

 

[kes]

The new British Game Alliance is a site owned by The Game Alliance -

ONTACT DETAILS

www.britishgamealliance.co.uk is a site owned and operated by The Game Alliance Limited, a private company limited by guarantee (registered with Companies House under number 11173337)

looking at the site its clear that a number of those who supported the phasing out of lead shot are co-partners - BASC is one who seemingly put up a lot of funding. References within the pages, including becoming a producing member (£1000) suggest you would get full media and marketing backup.
There are a number of references to quality standards being set out (and met presumably) and selling game meat at home and abroad. The word 'sustainable' game industry crops up a lot and its clear that this 'investment' and 'lead-free' are linked in time, since the BASC investment appears to have been in January 2020 (19th - financial statement) and the lead -free debate was visited upon a startled shooting community (well at least some of us) relatively recently.
CA, the GWCT are there and 'game producers'. Not NGO/SGA/SACS but a number of others.

 

[Sharpie]

The new British Game Alliance is a site owned by The Game Alliance -

ONTACT DETAILS

www.britishgamealliance.co.uk is a site owned and operated by The Game Alliance Limited, a private company limited by guarantee (registered with Companies House under number 11173337)

looking at the site its clear that a number of those who supported the phasing out of lead shot are co-partners - BASC is one who seemingly put up a lot of funding. References within the pages, including becoming a producing member (£1000) suggest you would get full media and marketing backup.
There are a number of references to quality standards being set out (and met presumably) and selling game meat at home and abroad. The word 'sustainable' game industry crops up a lot and its clear that this 'investment' and 'lead-free' are linked in time, since the BASC investment appears to have been in January 2020 (19th - financial statement) and the lead -free debate was visited upon a startled shooting community (well at least some of us) relatively recently.
CA, the GWCT are there and 'game producers'. Not NGO/SGA/SACS but a number of others.

That's interesting because, according to the BGA's propaganda, at say British Game Alliance FAQ's | British Game Alliance,

" The BGA has the support and backing of all shooting organisations as well as DEFRA and the FSA. ". as well as "Is the BGA another competing shooting organisation?

No, the BGA is an assurance scheme which has the support and backing of all shooting organisations unifying them under a common purpose."

Truly ? I find that hard to believe.

Nevermind such drivel as

"Why do we need the British Game Alliance?

The BGA is the only organisation tackling the ever-increasing issue of oversupply of game on to the market as well as implementing credible self-regulation.
To avoid government intervention and subsequently shooting being heavily restricted we must ensure best practise and high welfare is at the forefront of every shoot in the UK."

Ever increasing oversupply ? WTF ? I could drone on and on about what I have read about this ridiculous organisation, preening and posturing, and cast aspersions as to their credibility, finances, management, and whether they have the least clue about what "best practice" might be (by the way it is usually spelt with a C, not an S). But that seems to be a common theme with the frankly illiterate and incoherent drivel on their website. It physically pains me to try to absorb it, really it is pitiful.

So, in the usual manner, a bunch of old duffers have been rounded up from some clubs, and persuaded to lend their names to this ... lets say, speculative, venture, on an advisory board. Shame on them I say.

"Who’s involved with the BGA?

The BGA has a highly regarded Board of Directors bringing a wealth of knowledge to the forefront of the organisation.
These Directors have all given their time pro-bono (free).
In the future, they hope to hand their roles over to a Management Committee."

Oh, just read it yourselves, form your own opinions, and weep. Actually I don't disrespect the avowed intention behind this, but I do have a deep distrust of how it is being run, and do not expect to see a BGA logo such as Eat dot underscore Wild anytime soon at my supermarket.

British Game Alliance FAQ's | British Game Assurance

BGA FAQs and Audit FAQs BGA’s FAQs What is the British Game Alliance? The British Game Alliance (BGA) is a not-for-profit organisation which exists to provide credible self regulation through a third party auditing scheme and promote game across all sectors as a national marketing board. The...

www.britishgamealliance.co.uk

Or read Eat Wild - One Year On | British Game Alliance

For example, "BGA around the world. From Hong Kong to Macau…

Assurance - Aim to Sustain

AIM TO SUSTAIN GAME ASSURANCE: What is Aim to Sustain Game Assurance?Aim to Sustain Game Assurance is a voluntary game assurance scheme that provides evidence for game shoots, estates and game farms who are members, that they have been certified to demanding standards. Certified shoots, estates...

www.britishgamealliance.co.uk

This year Tom Adams, Managing Director of the BGA said, BGA also secured its first major overseas trade agreement for 250,000 birds to be exported for use in retail and high-end restaurants in Hong Kong and Macau. The deal was brokered with the luxury meat purveyor Sutherland, who plan to create their own game products for the Asian and expat markets – including pheasant, partridge and grouse for this coming season. "

Yet this is a "not for profit" organisation, running opaque accounts, the bare minimum legally required, I think that anybody with a braincell left can see what might be going on.

What exactly is a "luxury meat purveyor" ? I don't think that this is Fortnum and Mason's food hall, or Harrods, that we are talking about.

Round up the usual suspects used to be the call. I do think that this approach had some merit. But nowadays, so slippery are many, it seems very difficult to get some allegation to stick, never mind prosecute for worse things.

 

[kes]

Just for info;
4 columns in the table:- Standards:- Guidance Notes:- How you will be assessed :-Record keeping
FS1 Shoot owners must take responsibility for ensuring guns use non-lead ammunition where legally required.

Member Shoots can demonstrate compliance with this Standard by providing their guests with appropriate non-lead ammunition where required.

All Member Shoots must inform all guns prior and during the day about the need to use of non-lead ammunition where legally required.

The assessor will ask the member if they supply non-lead ammunition to their guns and if so to see evidence of this in the form of invoices, packaging etc. If they don’t supply non-lead ammunition the assessor will ask how the shoot communicates and verifies that guns comply with this requirement.


Taken from the BGA assessment and compliance documents.
Maybe lead will be made illegal eventually, as I cant really see the set standards by the BGA accepting lead-shot game for much beyond the 5 year 'voluntary' period.
Unless (of course,) the wording is changed, BASC et al will be forced to either abandon the BGA scheme (lead being so apparently toxic as to destroy the market), or accept it will fail for other than interested commercial or semi-commercial shoots to whom the extra income is necessary and who can impose a lead ban.
Will this work with high bird shoots or will we be fragmented further? What does this say about double standards - not that I agree with non-lead anyway.
Venison will obviously go copper if its to be sold.