2021

It’s not a question I’ve ever asked before but, given the level of discourse about conservation on social media, it’s how I started my morning.

We are delighted to support the #LambforStAndrewsDay campaign and are equally pleased to know that 180 schools and 30,000 home economic pupils across Scotland have signed up to cook and eat Scotch Lamb on the day.

If eating game shot with lead were that dangerous, use of lead in shooting would have become illegal long ago.

Whether you are part of or manage a syndicate or larger shoot, it is vital at this time everything is organized for the smooth running of the shoot days. 

Favourable Condition assessments of habitats on designated sites are undertaken by country agencies such as Natural England and NatureScot for JNCC as part of our statutory duties, and these are now being used as a benchmark for natural capital policy initiatives. 

In a survey of over 2,500 individuals at the beginning of 2021, four percent had made the switch away from lead, 20% had started testing alternatives, and a further 28% were planning to do so in the coming season.

As we take another step firmly towards winter, falling temperatures herald the return of our migrant woodcock - over the next few weeks they will complete their inconceivably long journeys from breeding sites across Scandinavia, Finland, the Baltic states and Russia. 

"Since scraping the side of my dad’s Mini Countryman in lockdown last year, I have had a deep-set fear of driving big cars that are not my own. Imagine my horror when I started my placement at the GWCT and learned that we would be using company cars to travel between sites!"

The Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT) has a long history of pioneering research on woodcock populations and migration.