Shooting Times

📰 NI committee withholds support for Hunting with Dogs Bill The Northern Ireland Assembly’s Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs Committee has reserved its endorsement of the Hunting with Dogs Bill until members have consulted within their parties, after a discussion dominated by the Bill’s potential impact on working gundogs. 👉 Full story: shootinguk.co.uk/news/ni-commit… #NorthernIreland #Dogs #Bill #RuralAffairs #Hunting

📰 Tributes pour in for “true legend” of the gundog world The gundog world is mourning the loss of Andy Cullen MBE, one of the UK’s most celebrated and respected working dog trainers, who died, aged 60, in May 2026 after a battle with cancer. Andy’s death has prompted an outpouring of grief and tributes from handlers, colleagues and industry partners across the country and beyond, with many describing him as a “true legend” and a master of his craft. 👉 Read more: shootinguk.co.uk/news/tributes-… #AndyCullen #Tributes #DogTrainer #Gundog #Community

📰 Courts told to jail hare coursers A new guideline from the Sentencing Council acknowledges what those who work the land have long argued: that the offences associated with hare coursing and poaching are among the most destructive crimes inflicted on rural England and Wales, but courts have not been punishing them accordingly. From 1 June, that may change, as courts will be formally directed towards prison sentences for the most serious cases. 👉 Full story: shootinguk.co.uk/news/courts-to… #Hare #Coursing #Sentencing #Prison #Poaching

🎥 Gamekeepers’ film tackles rural suicide The Gamekeepers Welfare Trust has premiered a documentary addressing suicide in rural communities, with families sharing first-hand accounts of loss in an effort to break the silence around mental health in the countryside. The film, titled 'In This Together', features testimonies from relatives not only of personal loss but of the consequences that ripple outwards: the loss of a home tied to employment, the rehoming of working dogs and the upheaval of leaving a rural way of life altogether. 👉 Full story: shootinguk.co.uk/news/gwt-film-… If you or someone you know is struggling, the Samaritans are available around the clock on 116 123, free from any phone. #Gamekeepers #Welfare #Rural #Support #Film

📰 Firearms licensing fees to rise 3% from 4 June Firearms and shotgun certificate holders across England, Scotland and Wales will pay more to obtain or renew their licences from 4 June, following the publication of a Home Office circular setting out new fees. 👉 Full story: shootinguk.co.uk/news/firearms-… #FirearmsLicensing #HomeOffice #Inflation #Fees #Rise

🏆 The £400,000 clay shoot: Eaton Hall aims for a British record The Derbyshire shooting ground is set to offer the largest prize pot in UK clay shooting history this June: £400,000, including a £180,000 bonus for anyone capable of shooting a perfect score. 👉 Full story: shootinguk.co.uk/news/eaton-hal… #EatonHall #TopGun #Championship #PrizePot #LifeChanging

📰 Licensing failures mount in England and Wales The backlog of temporary firearms permits issued by police forces in England and Wales has continued to grow, with the latest quarterly figures from the National Police Chiefs’ Council showing little improvement on an already poor picture. 👉 Full story: shootinguk.co.uk/news/licensing… #FirearmsLicensing #NPCC #Police #Engand #Wales

📰 Election results: a new chapter for shooting? Rural voters have sent a clear message to politicians across Scotland and Wales, according to countryside organisations responding to the results of 7 May’s elections. “It’s becoming increasingly clear that parties can no longer take the countryside for granted,” said David Bean, Parliament and Government Relations Manager at the Countryside Alliance. “From attacks on shooting to the family farm tax, rural voters increasingly feel decisions are being imposed on them rather than developed with them. This has created fertile ground for anti-establishment parties, but the resulting fragmentation in the vote could make rural voices more influential nationally.” 👉 Full story: shootinguk.co.uk/news/devolved-… #Election #Results #RuralVoices #Reaction #Countryside

📰 Vinnie’s Defender hits the market A Land Rover Defender 110 previously owned by Vinnie Jones is on the market at £150,000, offering collectors a rare chance to acquire one of the most recognisable custom Defenders of recent years. 👉 Full story: shootinguk.co.uk/news/vinnie-jo… #VinnieJones #LandRover #Defender #ForSale

Ted, the Patterdale terrier mix who became an unlikely star of Mortimer & Whitehouse: Gone Fishing, has died aged 13. The dog, owned by the BBC show’s executive producer Lisa Clark, first appeared in series three in 2020 and went on to become a fixture on British riverbanks alongside hosts Bob Mortimer and Paul Whitehouse, stealing jammy dodgers, rifling through bait bags and charming viewers in equal measure. 👉 Read more: shootinguk.co.uk/news/gone-fish… #Ted #GoneFishing #Mortimer #Whitehouse Photo: Gone Fishing / PA Wire

📰 Woodpigeon open season a ‘Trojan horse’, warns Mr Pigeon One of Britain’s most prolific woodpigeon shots has warned that proposals to introduce a formal open season for the species amount to a “massive Trojan horse”, potentially leaving shooters far more restricted than they are today. 👉 Full story: shootinguk.co.uk/news/woodpigeo… #Woodpigeon #OpenSeason #Consultation #QuarryList #ShootingTimes

📰 Cull more greys or lose reds forever, Government told The Government will need to press ahead with lethal grey squirrel control despite public opposition if England’s red squirrels are to be saved from mainland extinction, the Countryside Alliance has said. 👉 Full story: shootinguk.co.uk/news/grey-squi… #Squirrel #Conservation #RedSquirrel #CountrysideAlliance

📰 Hunting bill puts shooters at risk of prosecution A bill to ban hunting with dogs in Northern Ireland could criminalise shooting and gundog work, Countryside Alliance Ireland has warned. The Hunting with Dogs Bill, brought by Alliance MLA John Blair, was reintroduced to the Assembly on 27 April, nearly five years after it was last defeated. It proposes criminalising hunting wild mammals with dogs, as well as trail hunting and terrier work. 👉 Full story: shootinguk.co.uk/news/northern-… #Hunting #NorthernIreland #Countryside #Dogs #Bill

🏅 NGO honours gamekeeping’s past, present and future A gamekeeper who has transformed a depleted woodland into a wildlife haven and a teenage underkeeper using social media to bring gamekeeping to a new generation were among the stories celebrated at the The National Gamekeepers' Organisation’s awards ceremony on 22 April. 👉 Full story: shootinguk.co.uk/news/ngo-award… #NGO #Gamekeepers #Awards #CountryFoodTrust

📰 Good news for sound moderator users The Bill that will remove sound moderators from firearms licences has now received Royal Assent. The development marks a further step towards deregulation. All that is awaited now is a commencement date to be set by the Home Secretary. In the meantime, moderators will continue to be treated as firearms. Roger Seddon of the Countryside Alliance, which campaigned for deregulation, welcomed the news: “This legislation will have the effect of alleviating police firearms licensing departments of a huge and unnecessary administrative burden, whilst allowing legitimate users of sound moderators to buy and sell them without having to proceed through the cumbersome, costly and time consuming variation process – all of this with zero increase in risk to public safety.” Photo credit: Daniel Gould

📰 Merlin survey: more than meets the eye? Moorland estate owners across England have been advised by the Moorland Association not to participate in a national merlin survey after it was revealed that RSPB fieldworkers would be recording “known or suspected persecution incidents” and whether the ground is managed for grouse shooting. Andrew Gilruth, chief executive of the MA, was unsparing in his criticism. ⁠“Suspected by whom, on what basis and to what standard?” he asked. “Recorded for what purpose, shared with whom, retained where and used how? Those are not trivial questions. They go to the heart of what this exercise really is.” 👉 Full story: shootinguk.co.uk/news/merlin-su… #NaturalEngland #MoorlandAssociation #RSPB #Merlin #Survey

‼️BASC members can now enjoy free digital access to @shootingtimes‼️ Simply follow the link below to find out how to access the site and save £74.95 per year – you'll need your membership number handy. Read more👉basc.org.uk/basc-partners-…

📰 World Curlew Day marked by Irish conservation breakthrough The ninth annual World Curlew Day on 21 April brought welcome news from Ireland, where two ministers announced the first recorded instance of a headstarted curlew returning to establish a breeding territory on the island. 👉 Full story: shootinguk.co.uk/news/curlew-ir… #Curlew #Conservation #Breakthrough #Ireland #WorldCurlewDay

“Our Four Seasons campaign celebrates the year-round conservation efforts we each contribute to. It is time to tell our story and that depends on you." More on the @ShootingTimes website here: shootinguk.co.uk/news/basc-four…

❗Have your say on quarry species proposals❗ Plans could reduce or remove seasons for eight species but BASC supports a proposal to add woodpigeon to the quarry list. 🗓️ Gov consultation closes 17 May Read more and support the woodpigeon proposal 👇 basc.org.uk/british-bird-q…