Drive not be Driven? Aim to Sustain provides the answer

Spike Butcher, Aim to Sustain operations director discusses the future of game shooting. 

My philosophy is that change is inevitable and constant. We must drive, not be driven; be the spaniel, not the pheasant. General Shinseki, former Chief of Staff of the US Army once said: “If you don’t like change, you’ll like irrelevance even less.” and I find this a strong motivator. 

The change all shoots would do well to embrace is self-regulation, the voluntary adoption of standards to control an activity (in this case game shooting), by the people (game farms, shoot operators, gamekeepers, sporting agents, guns, beaters, pickers up et al), and the organisations involved with it, in such a way that new and expensive control by an external party or agency, (such as the government) is not required. 

There is a reason that all the Aim to Sustain partners advocate for sustainable game shooting through high standards and self-regulation. Without high standards, the benefits we espouse are not delivered, or worse, damage is done instead. To show that bird welfare, food quality, environmental enhancement, biodiversity and economic benefits are all delivered requires us to ‘walk the walk’, not just ‘talk the talk’. Without self-regulation and the evidence that accompanies it, our claims of best practice are just that – claims, anecdote, pub talk.  Aim to Sustain is obsessed with proving that when done well, game shooting has significant positive effects in the countryside and the partnership supports any self-regulation initiative that improves standards and creates evidence. 

But you cry “we are already heavily regulated and it’s not our job to enforce the regulations”.  And my response is “you are right, but being right and being successful are different things”.  We can be righteously grumpy when further regulation is imposed on us, or we can get on now with protecting ourselves by operating to the highest standards and proving that we do so. 

This commitment to promoting best practice saw the British Game Assurance scheme transfer into collective Aim to Sustain ownership at the end of 2023.  With advice from across the sector, the scheme has been updated and is as simple, relevant and affordable as possible, with new discounts for groups to join en masse. It is a standard model where an independent assessor comes on-site to confirm the member meets the scheme standards.  Their independence gives credibility and robustness to members’ assurance certification. Our assessment partner, Intertek SAI Global, is a World leader in this field with significant experience of other rural assurance schemes (e.g. Red Tractor) and assessors with experience of game shooting. 

The standards cover three areas – lowland shoots, upland shoots and game farms. Topics include general operations and safety, biosecurity, bird health and welfare, medicine management, game handling and food quality, environmental protection and pest and predator management. I would encourage you to explore the game assurance web pages. 

Alongside Aim to Sustain Game Assurance is Trusted Game, a vet designed health and welfare scheme. These schemes provide their members with simple, robust and effective ways to prove to the outside World they operate to high standards. Both schemes are complementary, and a good analogy is that Trusted Game is like a driving instructor, supporting and guiding the member to better outcomes, skills and standards, while Game Assurance is like a driving examiner, providing independent standards assessment. 

However, we face a real challenge.  In our communal memories, histories and traditions, assurance schemes are a new and often unwelcome concept, despite using them in other parts of our lives. We are understandably reluctant (metaphorically and physically) to open the gates and let strangers onto our land to watch us operate and pick over what we do.  I would say be confident and humble. Trust what you do is good and be open to suggestions where you could do things differently.

In the last 2 years I have too often heard the phrase “[…]there’s only another 5 years shooting left, better make the most of it[…]”.  I don’t buy that paradigm. I believe everyone can (and must) have a positive effect on our collective reputation.  I encourage you to focus on yourself for a moment, to consider how you, your syndicate or your business can engage with self-regulation, live by those standards we all espouse and gather good evidence. The ways to engage are legion, with huge amounts of information and help available from all the Aim to Sustain partners and other innovators across the sector. 

I will leave you with three questions. What are you (or your shoot) doing or planning to do to protect our future? If it’s nothing, is something stopping you? How can Aim to Sustain help? 

The recent commitment of the Greater Exmoor Shoot Association (GESA) to collective membership of Aim to Sustain Game Assurance scheme is a sign that some shoots are moving in a direction that acknowledges long-term responsibility and sustainability.  If you would like to discuss doing something similar, you can get in touch with Aim to Sustain.