ALL over the country, people will be enjoying local shoots during the festive period. While no game shooting occurs on Christmas Day, the Boxing Day shoot is traditionally a family day and provides a chance to spend the day enjoying the countryside and the company of friends.
Shooting plays an important part in improving social and personal wellbeing; bringing people together, keeping them active and helping them to spend more time outdoors in the countryside.
Shooting is worth £2 billion each year to the UK economy. Shooting supports the equivalent of 74,000 full-time jobs and shooters spend the equivalent of 3.9 million work days on conservation – the equivalent of 16,000 full-time jobs.*
Research from BASC, which surveyed 1,400 people, found that 95 per cent said shooting is important to their personal wellbeing and 84 per cent said it helps their physical wellbeing. On average each person makes 20 friends through shooting.**
Ian Grindy, chairman of BASC’s gameshooting and gamekeeping committee, said: “Boxing Day shoots bring everyone together, perhaps even more than shoots on any other day. Boxing Day is very much about family and that is the sentiment at the heart of the Boxing Day shoot. It is also a chance for the Guns to thank the beaters for all of their hard work.”
Glynn Evans, BASC’s head of game and gamekeeping, said: “Like many people I will be out on Boxing Day with my family. The Boxing Day shoot is a highlight of the gameshooting calendar and one that many people look forward to.”
*Source – The Value of Shooting: http://www.shootingfacts.co.uk/
**Source – Personal Value of Shooting Infographic: http://0ld.basc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/downloads/2015/04/Personal-VoS-Infographic-V3.pdf