C O V E R I N G T H E S H O O T I N G B U S I N E S S G L O B A L L Y
Sellmark – more bang
for your rifl escope buck
PAGE 34
Wiley X and shooting –
a winning combination
PAGE 44
BREXIT BRINGS
UNCERTAINTY
TO UK SHOOTING
INDUSTRY
The implications of Brexit on
shooting and hunting activities
in the UK were discussed
at a recent meeting of the All-Party
Parliamentary Group on Shooting
and Conservation (APPG) in the UK
Parliament, Westminster, London.
Th e extent to which the UK would
be free to change its environmental
rules, including those related to
shooting after Brexit, would be
limited by the UK’s legal obligations
with international environmental
agreements.
It was also stressed that the UK
will no longer continue to receive
protection from the EU Birds
Directive, which regulates game bird
shooting.
Th is was the message delivered by
Dr David Scallan, senior conservation
manager for the European Federation
for Hunting and Conservation
(FACE) when addressing the APPG.
He stated: “One international
environmental agreement – AEWA
– will move towards banning the
hunting of common pochard later
this year. EU member states will have
the legal option to continue to hunt
the species, which will ensure the
necessary local support for positive
habitat and predator management.
After Brexit, however, the UK
Government may not decide to allow
the hunting of some threatened
populations of ducks and geese, which
may face shooting bans.”
On the topic of lead in ammunition,
Dr Scallan stated that the UK will
continue to be vulnerable to many
new regulations because of the large
quantity of game meat that is exported
from the UK to EU countries. He
added that there are increasing
calls to ban lead ammunition from
international agreements such as the
Convention on Migratory Species
(CMS) and from many other sectors
of society: “An important factor will
also be the UK’s commitment to
EU trade standards, especially the
European Chemicals Agency, which
is currently discussing regulating lead
in ammunition. Further, the decisions
taken by the CMS will continue to be
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