“Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others’?” At the Scottish Association for Country Sports, this question drives our every action.
Since 1994, SACS (as we are better known) has provided representation and insurance for the grass roots of the fieldsports community. SACS people live from Land’s End to Shetland, from Kent to Northern Ireland and all around the globe. Whether they work terriers or ferrets, hunt geese on stormy foreshores, spend the close seasons pining for pheasants or grouse, or fish for the queenly salmon, all our members are equal.
We offer broad country sports insurance, but the driving force of our work is the individual guidance and Government representation that keeps our way of life secure for the present and future. We pursue mindful advocacy: adapting the communication of our core message so that it is more readily heard by people who need to listen.
The largest organisation of our kind in Scotland and Northern Ireland, our staff team’s professionalism, experience and expertise ably handles the vast volume of work that comes with the territory; however, SACS staff are the conduits between our members and people in power, and we are a family of like-minded folk. Our Management Committee members work alongside our staff, giving freely of their time and skills because they care deeply about the survival of fieldsports.
Apart from insurance, what does SACS do? Our members benefit from accessible membership fees, because competent representation must be available to a broad demographic. Members access discounts on leading vehicle manufacturers, clothing brands and NI ferry crossings. With two renowned firearms experts in our staff team, members across the UK receive first-rate assistance with all things firearm, shotgun and airgun. You can find out more about the benefits of membership here.
Our excellent relationships with Police forces and our vocal positions on the British Shooting Sports Council (the leading firearms law panel based in Westminster), Home Office firearms group, Association of Chief Police Officers forum and regional practitioners’ groups, ensure that our members have a strong voice where and when it counts.
But fieldsports isn’t all about guns. From fishing, land management, working dogs, natural resources, pest control, deer management, trapping, snaring or rewilding, any relevant Government consultation or evidence call generates a competent, professional response from SACS on behalf of our members. Getting politicians to hear fieldsports folk is difficult, but SACS does this successfully. People for whom fieldsports is a way of life will always need effective representation, and this is what we do.
‘Members’ is a word we use often; that’s because we are a membership association run by members, for members. A not-for-profit organisation that, with experienced corporate individuals at the helm, avoids the operational restrictions and financial drains faced by businesses because we are run astutely for the benefit of our membership.
We do good work and we do well, our innovations and fresh approach being demonstrably valued by stakeholders. If you’d like to know more, call us for a chat on 01350724228, pop into our office in Selkirk, visit us at sacs.org.uk, or follow us on Facebook and Instagram. We look forward to meeting you.