Our Head of Shooting, Liam Stokes, writes: While the accumulation of signatures on a petition to "ban driven grouse shooting" is unlikely to have any material impact on the management of our uplands, the process of whipping up anti-shooting sentiment can have some unintended consequences. We have written before about the damage needless division can do to conservation efforts, polarising conservation charities and land managers. A further unfortunate consequence is the emboldening of extremist animal rights activists.
The Hunt Saboteurs Association responded to the start of the shooting season by posting photographs of masked men intimidating young children alongside their guide to disrupting legal shoots. Groups such as this are clearly emboldened by the progress of the petition to ban grouse shooting, as evidenced by the Hunt Saboteurs Association banner that flew over the recent "ban driven grouse shooting" protest on Ilkley Moor.
Many petition signatories would surely be horrified to think they were encouraging the intimidation tactics of these saboteurs. Some within the countryside community have responded with a petition of their own, asking the government to protect them from harassment when undertaking legal fishing, shooting and hunting. It can be found here: https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/164891
At the Countryside Alliance we take the safety of our members, and their right to go about their legal business without fear of intimidation, very seriously. We are asking our members to inform us if they experience any such harassment, and in particular to tell us about the police response. Email: [email protected]
Follow Liam on Twitter @LHJStokes and follow the shooting campaign on @CA_Shooting