CONSERVATION & ECOLOGY Ecological impact
A report written by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) in 2010 provided the following summary on the likely impact of gamebirds and shooting:
Game estate management
• Game estate habitat management includes woodland sky-lighting, planting covercrops, conservation headlands, and more
• It is likely that game estate management, including woodland and farmland habitat management, provision of supplemental food, and predator control increases the numbers of some bird groups, particularly warblers, finches and ground feeders
• Estate management also benefits some small mammals, particularly wood mice and bank voles
Direct impacts of gamebirds
• Gamebirds, mostly pheasants, modify woodland ground flora within release pens, through browsing and soil enrichment
• Pheasants at high densities can modify hedgerow and hedgebank floral structure, and this may have knock- on effects for hedge nesting birds
• Pheasants reduce the biomass of overwintering ground-active invertebrates and caterpillars that are important food resources for breeding birds
• Breeding gamebirds may compete with native birds for invertebrate resources
• Gamebirds on moorland fringe habitat threaten rare and endangered bryophyte communities, and may impact on red grouse and other fragile moorland bird species
Gamebirds and disease
• Pheasants may spread numerous parasites to wild birds, particularly at feeders
Shooting practices
• Birds of prey and other animals suffer lead poisoning following the consumption of gamebirds that are shot but not collected
• Spent lead shot on game estates is ingested by some birds, leading to poisoning at sufficient concentrations
• Lead shot in the
environment may escalate the food chain from soil invertebrates to small mammals to predators
• Unintentional by-catch of grey partridge results in population impacts on this declining species
Impacts on predators and predation dynamics
• Predator abundance may be increased by excess prey abundance in the form of gamebirds. Predators such as foxes and corvids may become more ubiquitous, and protected predators, such as raptors may also benefit
• At the end of the shooting season, gamebirds may be reduced to such an extent that predators sustained at elevated numbers due to abundant overwinter prey may switch to other prey types. This period of low gamebird abundance coincides with the nesting season for most bird species, and over- abundant predators may have detrimental effects on nesting birds
• Some gamekeepers persecute protected predators such as birds of prey, particularly buzzards and goshawks, which are perceived as threats to gamebirds
particularly in the southern counties of England, opt for French stock. They require large numbers of birds, and price is an issue as they are competing in the top class world of corporate entertainment and recreation where margins are slim. The more traditional approach to game shooting is for release of moderate numbers of birds from locally sourced eggs. This system is less price-competitive, gives a degree of in-built biosecurity and could be viewed as being more sustainable. The Gamekeepers Association of Britain and Northern Ireland was incorporated into the British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC) in 1975. BASC has 5,500 gamekeeper members, the majority of whom, it suggests, will also be members of the National Gamekeepers Organisation. In addition, 75% of its 122,000 members are actively involved in game shooting and land management.
A recent BASC survey showed that gamekeepers manage around 7.3 million hectares of land in the UK - an area almost the size of Scotland. The Game Conservation Trust (GCT) estimates that there is in excess of 10,000 holdings where pheasants are reared. The National Gamekeepers Organisation, however, believe this figure is too high.
Economics
Fertile (hatching) eggs are around 40p each. Day old chicks currently cost between 60p and £1.00. Six to seven week-old poults are £3.50 each. There is also a limited market
130 PC December/January 2019
for 10 (or so) week old growers (i.e. out of the release pens) with prices ranging between £6.50 and £7 each. Prices will vary with demand and quantities traded.
The shot pheasant is worth only around 50p. The market is driven by the sale of the actual shooting. Costs for a shoot can vary enormously. One day’s shooting can be between £25 and £35 per bird shot. The cost of a day’s shooting varies between £100/gun for a smaller shoot, to £1000s/gun on a larger shoot. The British Association for Shooting and Conservation suggest that on smaller syndicates a full gun can be less than £350 for the season. The BASC state that 80% of birds shot in the UK are exported to the Continent, with Belgium being a key market. Efforts are being made to increase domestic consumption, through, for example Game- to-Eat, a promotional body for the sector, which provides information and recipes to the public and is supported by celebrity chefs.
In the UK, 480,000 people shoot game. It is estimated that the industry supports the equivalent of 70,000 full-time jobs, and shooters spend £2 billion each year on goods and services. However, the objective of just 18% of shoot providers is to make a profit, as for most, shooting is a hobby. Each year £91 million is spent on eggs/ chicks reared either in the UK or France, and of birds shot approximately 46% of pheasants and 37% of partridge are sold to dealers for human consumption, the rest being consumed by the shooting providers and
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