Sir, Patrick Galbraith may have enjoyed reminiscing about the past, as he sat on the Queen’s sofa at Sandringham (“The commercialisation of shooting may kill the whole sport”, 12 October), but game shooting is more popular and accessible than ever before, precisely because it has embraced change.
Where conservation best practice is being followed, wildlife is also enjoying this new golden era – irrespective of the size of a shoot. On our farm in Leicestershire, we demonstrated that a well-run shoot can increase the abundance and breeding success of several species including blackbird, song thrush, dunnock, whitethroat, chaffinch and yellowhammer. When we looked at thirty-four farms nearby, we found that those with shoots had 30% more farmland birds. This matters because, as the State of Nature report makes clear, we need to do more to help our wildlife thrive again.
Andrew Gilruth
Director of Communications
GWCT