BASC has put shooting and conservation on the agenda in discussions about how the subsidies for the Common Agriculture Policy (CAP) will be spent in England. The implementation of CAP could provide direct financial support for shooting as an activity as well as indirectly through financing the creation of habitats.
A Defra consultation has taken place on CAP implementation in England. BASC staff took part in a number of Defra workshops and BASC’s response’s to the consultation was submitted on 28th November.
BASC response
BASC has submitted a detailed twelve page response to the consultation. Some key points raised by BASC were:
- It is vital that the new agri-environment scheme options recognise the close link between farmers and shooters as practical environmentalists and conservation gain at the landscape scale.
- BASC members can assist land owners and farmers with conservation works associated with both Pillar 1 and Pillar 2.
- BASC recommends that the financial contribution of shooting in the rural economy is recognised by DEFRA in its Rural Development Programme for the 2015 to 2020 period and that DEFRA builds upon the success of the DEFRA funded Country Sports South West Project.
- BASC would like to see the adoption of the new EU regulation. According to recital 21 of the Regulation, “Diversification into non-agricultural activities may also address sustainable management of cynegetic resources (…) and “should be promoted”. Then, pursuant to Article 20(1) (a) and 20(b), “support shall cover (…) “business start-up aid for non-agricultural activities in rural areas” and “investments in creation and development of non-agricultural activities”.
- BASC would be interested to sit on any stakeholder group that is put in place to develop the schemes. BASC has a proven track record of achieving biodiversity targets at the landscape scale through our Green Shoots programme (…) The experience BASC has in working for landscape scale outputs with the farming, shooting and conservation community could add value in creating a scheme which farmers choose to engage with.
Click here to request a copy of our full response