Latest News

Heather burning, the hen harrier debate, the RSPB’s views on shooting, predator control and whether game management is the key to wildlife recovery are just some of the current topical issues that GWCT members and countryside enthusiasts will be debating at the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust’s annual Members’ Conference on Wednesday 29^th October at the Royal Geographical Society in London.

An exclusive wine tasting and auction held at the Caledonian Club in London has raised more than £15,000 for the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT).

Peter Wilson, Olympic gold medal winner, first tested out his clay shooting skills on a Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust’s young shots course when he was just 14 years of age and since then, the career of this world class shooting champion has gone from strength to strength.

Buying a Christmas gift for the countryside man or woman that seems to have everything is one of those eternal wrangles that many of us face each year

The Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT) has announced that its second Big Farmland Bird Count will take place between 7th and 15th February 2015. This leading UK research charity is asking farmers, landowners, birdwatchers and gamekeepers to spend 30 minutes recording the species and number of birds seen on one particular area of the firm this coming winter.

Efforts to secure a more promising future for hen harriers in England moved a little closer this week as an e- petition calling for Defra to publish its Hen Harrier Joint Recovery Plan achieved more than 10,000 signatures. This means that Defra is now obliged to respond in writing about their response.

GWCT research is becoming a beacon of light in an increasingly challenging environment for game and wildlife. As wildlife populations continue to decline, is there too much talk and not enough action? The Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust will be posing this question at its 2014 Members’ Conference on the 29th October 2014. 

A 1.25 MILLION Euro EU Life+ funded project will help farmers in the Avon Valley between Salisbury and Christchurch reverse the fortunes of the iconic and much revered lapwing, which has suffered a dramatic decline over the past 20 years. The species is red-listed as a bird of conservation concern in the UK and conservationists believe that as well as habitat loss, predation of nests by foxes and crows is a major factor limiting lapwing recovery.

The appearance of new insect species, particularly grasshoppers and crickets on the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust’s Allerton Project research farm in Leicestershire indicates that climate change is having an impact on wildlife, according to the Trust’s researchers.

Bird watchers could play a vital role in the conservation of one of our most secretive and elusive birds, by volunteering to go out counting woodcock during the summer months when the males are performing their enigmatic roding activity at dusk to attract receptive females.