Letters

Email: field.secretary@futurenet.com

LETTERS MAY BE EDITED FOR CLARITY OR SPACE

A COMMON CAUSE

I write this as an enthusiastic member of BASC who is supportive of its aims. I did not join for insurance but to support a voice for shooting – much the same reason that I subscribe to the GWCT. However, it has occurred to me that something is being missed in terms of campaigning. While it is vital to reinforce the link between shooting and food, and to shout loudly about the environmental benefits best practice brings, we need to pay attention to the culture that underpins us.

Fieldsports form part of an unbroken line as old as man himself. Art, cuisine, literature, way of dress, our own terminology – fieldsports are not singular activities but part of a world in the round. As has been demonstrated by those who wish to do us harm, when you remove an activity such as shooting from the context that gives it meaning and provides justification, and instead provide a new context – ‘killing for fun’, for example – you can turn the public against us.

I read a lot of comments that