Shoot Assurance

This subject seems to have been going around for a long time now, but we have definitely not made the progress needed. As a firm, we were enthusiastic supporters of the original BGA Shoot Assurance Scheme. It obviously had its teething problems and was not as simple or as cost effective as it could have been, but the concept of Shoots of all sizes being Assured seemed to us to make every sense; at the end of the day, the majority of what we shoot goes into the human food chain. We continue to subscribe to that view i.e. that EVERY SHOOT should be Shoot Assured going forward. Whilst this will not prevent the incoming Labour Government (and the same with the devolved Governments), from doing stupid things out of ignorance or spite, it does make what we do much more credible and as a result, much more defensible. Continuing as we are i.e. with the vast majority of Shoots having no Assurance Scheme in place is a recipe for disaster and frankly Shoot Operators who work on this basis either out of ignorance or possibly an inability to justify the modest expenditure that Assurance involves, are being very foolish. All Shoots should become Assured, and we should try very hard to get all of our neighbours to do the same. 

There are currently two Assurance Schemes; the first is the successor to the old BGA one which is now under the Aim to Sustain banner. The second is one which has been set up by a group of Specialist Avian Vets, called Trusted Game. We have looked in detail at both and the Aim to Sustain Scheme is more comprehensive. However, we think that whilst there is no requirement either by Government, Natural England, DEFRA or it appears from the buyers of dead Game to currently have any such Schemes in place, the Trusted Game assurance scheme is probably all that most Shoots need at this time. We have worked with a number of Avian Vets on Shoots up and down the country and as a result have close relationships, as will almost all Low Ground Shoot Operators and/or their Keepers with their local Vets. Like everything, Vets are now specialised and most Shoots with reasonable quantities of released Game, will probably use a Specialist Avian Veterinary Practice. This route to Assurance is simple, cost effective and would seem to be a very good starting place. If a Shoot has a necessity to achieve a higher Assurance standard (perhaps because the buyer of their Game requires such), or in due course because there are legislative changes which necessitates a higher level of Assurance, then the Aim to Sustain Scheme would be well worth looking at.

Where does this leave Grouse Moors? The answer is that to be able to use Medicated Grit now a Moor will need to obtain after pathology results (which prove their high worm levels), a prescription from their Vet. This therefore involves a Vet with that Moor. As yet Trusted Game have not rolled out their Assurance scheme for Grouse Moors but are currently developing one. Again and once this is rolled out, we think that for most Grouse Moors the Trusted Game route probably makes most sense at this stage, assuming it is like their low ground counterpart. To obtain more information about the Trusted Game Scheme, we asked the Team there to write a short article for us, which you will find later in this Newsletter.

The key is for all Shoot Operators to NOW focus on Shoot Assurance. We/you need it, even if it is not a legal requirement (yet!), because it starts the process of proving that what we are doing is being done to a high standard. We cannot continue to deal with a food product, without having this in place and without the food product element, shooting is much much harder to defend.

Article written by Mark Osborne