Conservation with a Gun?

Many of us who love the natural world think it's all the better and more enjoyable when it's beyond the dominion of man. Those with careers in land, wildlife and associated management will inevitably see things differently. But it's at the extreme end of human influence to claim that those who like to buy guns and go out shooting wildlife are acting to the benefit of the conservation of wildlife and landscapes. It's a funny world though and not a day goes by without being surprised what people can believe and try to get others to believe. And yes, there are some who quite seriously purport to believe this and set out to persuade the rest of us that it is so. They even call themselves Custodians of the Countryside - custodians with guns; another example of the post-truth age previously referred to.*
"Be assured, we're only doing this for your good."


Country Squire is a magazine I've never read before and probably unlikely to seek out in the future. But there's a current article from the Chairman of the BASC  (British Association for Shooting and Conservation) that's worth a look. It states a case that killing wild birds is good for wildlife  across the country. This article is interesting because the magazine has now agreed to publish a well argued response from Steve Carver of the Wildland Research Institute.

Those of us who've shaken our heads in frank disbelief at some BASC statements have often queried in response how on earth nature and wildlife managed to exist before these altruistic custodians came along.

BASC started off as the Wildfowlers Association of Great Britain and Ireland ( WAGBI) an initiative  of a man who owned a gun shop in Hull. Wildfowling was particularly associated with coastal areas and at that time (pre-WW1) people with an interest in protecting the birds were trying to ban the sport. It's present name was agreed in the eighties plainly an attempt to manage their image and public perceptions. They've continued to try to present themselves as experts in conservation, responding to consultations and writing reports in such a way that under-informed people might see them as a responsible countryside voice. Yet you can only go so far in straining credibility especially when you write articles like the one linked to above.

* ( now the latest cliché after  being named the OED's word of the year)