Wiltshire shoot warns of closure as bird flu rules threaten wider trade
A Wiltshire shooting club has warned it may be forced to close after changes to gamebird release licensing on land designated as Special Protection Areas (SPAs), raising concerns for the future of the UK gun trade.
From March 2025, Defra stopped issuing general licences for the release of pheasants and other gamebirds on or near SPAs. Natural England is now assessing applications individually and has said they will only be granted in exceptional circumstances where measures to reduce the risk of avian influenza transmission are clear.
Hugh Carter, chairman of the Bulford and Tidworth Garrison Shoot, told the BBC his club, which operates on Salisbury Plain, would be unable to continue without a licence. “If there’s no shoot, there’s no gamekeeper, no picker-ups, no beaters, no food going into the community, no field sports going to the military community,” he said.
The shoot has around 250 members, largely serving personnel, veterans and their families, and employs a gamekeeper as well as beaters and gundog handlers. Game is provided first to staff and then donated to the local community.
For the trade, closures of this kind could mean reduced demand for cartridges, clothing, equipment and firearms, particularly in rural counties where game shooting supports many retail outlets. Uncertainty around licensing may also make estates hesitant to place forward orders for ammunition and management supplies, affecting cashflow for distributors and shops.
The British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC) has launched legal action against Natural England over the policy. BASC’s deputy director for conservation, Marnie Lovejoy, told the BBC that predator management and habitat improvements carried out by shoots can help protect species such as the stone curlew, which nests on Salisbury Plain. “There is ample evidence that shows that protected bird species are thriving on areas where you have a shoot,” she said.
Natural England said it could not comment on ongoing legal matters but insisted its role is to protect internationally important bird populations from avian influenza.
The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) has supported the current restrictions and said it would like to see licensing extended to all future releases of reared gamebirds and mallards, not just those on protected sites. If adopted, such a move would have far-reaching consequences for the UK shooting trade, cutting participation and further reducing retail demand across the sector.