Two wildfowling clubs have found new members, more shooting and more opportunities to promote their sport after appearing at an open farm day in Cambridgeshire this month.
The Fenland Wildfowlers and the Whittlesey Wildfowlers along with BASC to which they are affiliated had stands at Michael Sly’s farm near Thorney on Open Farm Sunday, which is organised by the charity LEAF (Linking Environment and Farming).
David Denman, secretary of Whittlesey Wildfowlers and Conservationists, said: “It was with some trepidation that we agreed to take a stand at the Open Farm Sunday as it is many years since the club last did this sort of thing but we had a great time! We talked to lots of local people who didn’t even know we existed, we spoke to the chairwoman of the local museum group who asked us to have a stand at their open day and country fair, we talked to RSPB staff who had no idea of the conservation work and land management we undertake, we acquired seven potential new members and we secured some more pigeon shooting. Would we do it again? We’d be mad not to.”
BASC director of shooting standards, Dr Peter Marshall, said: “This event is a superb opportunity to network with local landowners, farmers, conservation bodies and other like minded people. Allowing local people to feel part of the environment in which they live and understand how it is managed can provide very useful dividends for both parties. The events are run every year and throughout the UK; so why not go on to the LEAF website http://www.farmsunday.org/ofs/home.eb and get involved next year.”
ENDS