Spreading the word

Karen Silcock reflects on the important work taking place to educate the wider public about life in the countryside.

It's all too easy to accuse the saboteurs, vegan activists and social media of being the root of all our ills, and to complain about a lack of promotion and protection for country sports. However, we have to look the facts squarely in the face or we are doomed to failure. Our own research shows that less than one in six rural people see animal welfare as an important rural issue, with less than one in 10 rural people and one in 20 British adults seeing fox hunting as an important environmental issue.

We need to emphasise the positive news about our sports and fight back against disruption, but that alone isn't enough because the general public is not really interested in this issue. Preaching to the converted and shouting at the injustice of it all won't counter the likes of Chris Packham. We need to focus on promoting the bigger picture to the great British public by giving them access to the information they need to understand and accept what we do, what resources are needed and how to manage the countryside for the benefit of all. This will not be achieved overnight, but we continue to work on it. Alongside the visits made to hound shows held all across the country and the Game Fair, the Countryside Alliance and allies are seeking to engage with the public in different ways, including through events such as Countryfile Live. It was hugely encouraging to see other organisations like the National Gamekeepers Organisation, BASC and the Veterinary Association for Wildlife Management there, too, providing information, ideas and activities to a fresh audience. We have to be there, and fight back with the facts.

Being at Countryfile Live was a real eye opener. Our stand had huge numbers of visitors who had little or no previous exposure to the realities of rural life. We had hounds and ferrets with us which provided both the draw to get people over the threshold and the initial talking point. Our opponents got the organisers to send a vet to check hounds for welfare issues – naturally we passed with flying colours and so it turned into a positive event for us.

A big plus point for many that I spoke with was learning our hounds are bred for soundness and performance in a very selective and co-operative system. Also, they were impressed by the obvious care and affection huntsmen and kennel staff had for their hounds, including the fact that the hounds had a cooling fan – unlike the human part of the team.

The things we take for granted, like hounds having names and being treated as individuals, were a real and positive surprise to many, as was our willingness to advise people on contacting hunts. One lady went away with a very different view of us when advised how to contact her local hunt. She just wants to be warned when hounds were in her area so she can keep her pets in.

Demonstrating high standards of welfare, behaviour and consideration can make a very positive impact at an individual level. We need to get these messages spread more widely, and appreciate that our actions as well as our words influence others' views of us.

Answering questions about our animals, their breeding and their jobs allowed wider conversations to develop with visitors. We talked about the other work we do for the countryside and the connections between food, farming, conservation and sport. Two farmers I spoke to were very positive; both were pleasantly surprised about us even being at Countryfile Live. They see the future of rural communities and farming as depending on talking openly to wide cross-sections of society. To them, the future depends on influencing exactly the sort of audience attracted to Countryfile Live.

We won't succeed by promoting narrow interests but we may by working with others to promote the role of the countryside in terms all can understand, while exposing those attacking farming and our sports as being zealots pursuing an unrealistic and untenable outcome.

As well as going to Countryfile Live, I enjoyed some time on our stand at the Festival of Hunting which was a very different experience, and less testing. It's great to see it continuing to go from strength to strength and to see my young godson enjoy his first visit which makes me ever more determined to work for the future of the countryside and its sporting heritage. The CA continues to work with The Hunting Office to brief hunts on key issues, including saboteur activity. We have held a series of social media and PR seminars, which cover handling social media and other press as well as the vital importance of good incident management when things don't go according to plan. These are the issues I now handle routinely as a modern hunt secretary, and it's been great to share my experiences with others to help them develop their own approaches. Most hunts have positive stories to tell; reports on events, community activity, and charity donations can all be well-received by news-hungry local journalists. Social media can promote events and provide a platform for communicating facts, rather than the dastardly acts we are alleged to perform.

I'm finishing my first year as a director conscious of the hard work we still have to do, but with great confidence that it will all be worth it.