Game Rearing

[Mike2 0]

Have your say on the future of game rearing in England before time runs out

 

Dear all,

 

Time is running out for everyone with an interest in game rearing and game shooting to have their say on the future of game rearing in England. Responses are invited from all interested organisations and individuals.

 

Click here http://www.basc.org.uk/en/media/key_issues.cfm/cid/6BCCB7A5-0522-4F9C-97A3CF8F5423B63E to find out more and to read BASC’s draft response to Defra’s consultation. You may wish to use this as a guide to your own response.

 

Please avoid your submission being classed as a campaign response by using your own words and opinions and then email Animalwelfareconsultations@defra.gsi.gov.uk your response to Defra.

 

All responses must be sent to Defra by the 18th of January 2010.

 

A link to the Defra consultation documents is provided here. http://www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/consult/gamebirds/index.htm

 

Please forward this on to all your shooting, gamekeeping or game rearing contacts or if you know someone who wants to or needs to respond to this consultation.

 

If you require any further information you can either email gamekeeping@basc.org.uk or call Tom Blades on 01244 573019.

 

As you might expect those wishing to retain the use of raised laying cages for pheasants in England are working to undermine BASC’s position and our support for traditional game rearing including partridge pair boxes. In the coming days further evidence of this will come to light and below is a copy of BASC statement in response to comments which may appear in the sporting press.

 

BASC statement:

 

The Gamebird Welfare Code has been the subject of public consultation for eight weeks and BASC's principled position on wishing to see an end to the use of very small cages for commercial pheasant egg production has been public knowledge since 2005.

 

BASC's views on the issues and its detailed draft response to the options raised by the consultation were published before Christmas for comment and made widely available to inform those who shoot and the general public. We make no bones about pursuing our aim, which the elected Council and relevant advisory committees of BASC have long considered necessary for the future of game shooting, by all open and democratic means. If we are seeking to influence a Labour government, then of course we will lobby Labour MPs. BASC always takes an all-party approach to political issues and has lobbied on that basis.

 

BASC recognises that there are those who strenuously oppose change, especially those with vested interests, and they will make doom-laden predictions, allegations of bad faith and whip up conspiracies, but the truth is that BASC has never found fault with traditional partridge boxes and is campaigning for a minimum space provision of 1 square meter per laying pheasant prescribed in the Code. This space requirement is in line with traditional game rearing and gamekeeping experience. It would effectively ban very small raised pheasant laying cages which provide a third of that space and would not prejudice commercial game rearing.

 

BASC is working openly with the essential long term interests of shooting in mind and does not settle for a "business as usual" outcome represented by Option 2 in the consultation. The consultation explicitly seeks views on how "a cage" should be defined. BASC believes that "a cage" for laying pheasants is one that provides less than 1 square meter per bird and traditional partridge boxes are to be excluded. Nobody in government has proposed the banning of any traditional system of game rearing. In BASC's view Defra does not want to bring about a situation where the UK imports more eggs or birds. That being so, supporting Option 3 to ban all cages makes complete sense.

 

There are of course many risks in any publicly emotive subject such as this and shooting organisations wilfully misrepresenting BASC's position is irresponsible.