BASC Call for Cold Weather Restraint

[Rasher]

Severe Weather Alert for the Shooting of Wildfowl and Waders

 

Call for Voluntary Restraint – England and Wales

 

Today, 22nd December 2010, is the seventh day of freezing conditions in England and Wales under the agreed procedures for managing the shooting of ducks, geese and waders during prolonged severe weather. If the severe weather continues, and the agreed criteria are met, the earliest a statutory suspension could come into effect in England and Wales is 30th December 2010.

 

Under these circumstances, BASC is calling on all its members and membership groups in England and Wales to exercise restraint in their shooting of all ducks (including reared mallard), geese, waders (including woodcock and snipe), coot and moorhen, where local conditions require it.

 

Guidance on how to exercise restraint is available on BASC’s website: www.basc.org.uk

 

Please bring this notice to the attention of your members and any other shooting people you encounter, not least so that the shooting community can be seen to be acting responsibly under the circumstances.

 

Please also keep your country/regional office informed over any actions which your club or syndicate takes, together with reports of unusual bird movements or birds in poor condition. Please also help by completing the bird condition forms available on JNCC's website: www.jncc.gov.uk/page-2894. These forms record information on ground condition and the condition of waterfowl, and should be returned, preferably by email, to either your country/regional office, or your country conservation agency.

 

Please note that statutory suspensions are in place in both Scotland and Northern Ireland.

 

Up-to-date information is available on BASC’s website: www.basc.org.uk.

 

This email is being sent to all BASC-affiliated clubs, syndicates and gamekeepers in the affected areas.

 

Thank you for your help and support.

 

Yours sincerely

 

 

 

JOHN HARRADINE (Dr)

Director of Research