Game shooting brings vital income to rural communities and the land management for game shooting can bring significant benefits to the environment. For example, planting cover crops can help to boost biodiversity as heather also benefits lapwing, curlew, golden plover and the rare merlin. Furthermore, gamekeepers play a valuable role in predation control.
There is a code of practice for good shooting developed by the industry (www.codeofgoodshootingpractice.org.uk), which applies to all game shooting, walked up, driven, wild bird or reared.
It is for these reasons that the previous Government supported gamebird shooting and I hope that the current Government also recognises the importance of game shooting to rural economies.