The role of the wider shooting community in maintaining standards has been highlighted in the updated Code of Good Shooting Practice, released today.
The Code sets out the best practice in game conservation, shoot management and the behaviour of participants.
The latest guidance outlines the role of all participants, individual guns, gamekeepers, beaters, pickers-up as well as the shoot organisers in ensuring that shoots comply with the Code.
Bill Tyrwhitt-Drake, chairman of committee which oversees the Code of Good Shooting Practice, said: “In Britain, we are rightly proud of our shooting sports, the fantastic part they play in conservation and the contribution they make to the rural economy.
“But shooting has its opponents and the rise of social media, for example, means our sport is in the spotlight like never before. The good name of shooting, and the ability of organisations to defend and promote it, depends upon everyone involved striving to support the highest standards.
“Whatever an individual’s role in shooting, they should always be ‘Code-aware’ and should raise awareness of the Code in others. The Code is required reading for everyone involved in shooting in Britain.
“It is more than 25 years since the Code was first introduced and, over the years, it has proved successful in raising standards and promoting best practice.
“We advise that whether a gun, a beater or a picker-up, people should check a shoot is Code-compliant. If it is not, they should go elsewhere.”
The Code of Good Shooting Practice is produced by ten organisations responsible for live quarry shooting and wildlife management in the UK. It was last updated in 2012. The revised Code warns that those involved in shooting should not be complacent about the sport’s future and lists five golden rules that underpin shooting.
The Code is available to download or in hard copy from the publishing organisations. It will also be available from the stands of all the leading organisations at The Game Fair 2017.
Click here to view the Code of Good Shooting Practice.