Nearly 40% of MPs in the newly elected parliament have expressed their support for shooting through an online campaign run by the UK’s largest shooting organisation, the British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC).
The campaign, which allowed people to contact their candidates directly with a list of questions on shooting, produced responses from 45% of all elected MPs. Only 6 elected MPs declared themselves to be opposed to shooting.
Christopher Graffius, BASC director of communications, said: “The response to this campaign has outstripped that of previous elections where we relied on letters and postcards. In 2005 less than 5% of elected MPs responded to our pre-election campaign, compared to 45% this time around. The work to follow up on these contacts begins now.”
BASC will also be running a new campaign to define the position of the MPs who did not respond before the election. Members will be able to use a revised website to contact their local MPs and canvass their views.
Christopher Graffius said: “We aim to build broad all-party support for shooting. BASC and its members will be seeking out MPs who have not yet expressed their views on shooting and will target those who declared themselves to be unsure or under-informed about shooting, its conservation benefits and contribution to the economy.” ENDS
Notes to editors:
290 elected MPs replied before the election.
172 MPs said they support shooting conducted according to existing codes of practice.
80 MPs said they were supportive but with some reservations.
25 MPs said they were neutral.
Seven MPs said they did not know and six said they oppose shooting.
For more information please call the BASC press office on 01244 573031. An ISDN line is available for radio interviews.