Memorandum submitted by the British Association
for Shooting and Conservation (BASC)
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
BASC is the largest country sports organisation
in the UK and works for the highest standards in shooting sports.
BASC welcomes Defra's readiness to consult on the draft Bill and
their pledge to honour the manifesto commitment not to restrict
shooting sports. The draft Bill deals with two issues that affect
shooting sports: tail docking and the rearing of gamebirds. BASC
welcomes the proposed exemption for dogs used in shooting sports
and legitimate pest and predator control. This submission sets
out the reasons for an exemption and how it might operate. On
the matter of rearing gamebirds BASC welcomes Defra's commitment
to approve the Game Farmers' Code of Practice. The submission
raises two further issues on which we are uncertain of the Government's
intentions with regard to this legislation. These are the appointment
of inspectors by local authorities and the possibility of an amendment
to the bill dealing with traps and snares.
INTRODUCTION
1. BASC is committed to the highest standards
in the field of animal welfare and, as the largest country sports
organisation in the United Kingdom, enjoys the support of some
120,000 members including 5,000 gamekeepers. We are well placed
and have the necessary network to promulgate improved practice
and standards. We work in close partnership with Defra, and engage
with animal welfare groups, in order to achieve higher welfare
standards. BASC is the only shooting organisation with dedicated
research and training departments.
ABOUT BASC
2. BASC was founded in 1908 as the Wildfowlers'
Association of Great Britain and Ireland and incorporates the
Gamekeepers' Association of the United Kingdom. BASC is constituted
as an Industrial and Provident Society and is the representative
body for country shooting in the UK. It aims to promote and protect
shooting and the well-being of the countryside throughout the
UK and overseas.
3. BASC has an annual turnover of £5.5
million, employs more than 85 staff including special expertise
in game and wildlife management, firearms, scientific research
and conservation and has fulltime offices in four English regions,
Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
4. BASC believes that all who shoot should
conduct themselves according to the highest standards of safety
and courtesy, with full respect for their quarry and a practical
interest in wildlife conservation and the well-being of the countryside.
5. BASC's expertise in shooting matters
is widely recognised and we are routinely consulted by a variety
of government departments and agencies (including the Home Office,
Defra, Lantra and the Health and Safety Commission) and other
statutory and non-statutory bodies.
6. BASC has concluded formal statements
of common interest and co-operation, supported by mutually agreed
action plans, with the statutory conservation advisers: English
Nature, Countryside Council for Wales, Scottish Natural Heritage
and the Environment and Heritage Service Northern Ireland.
7. BASC has initiated, developed and promoted
a wide range of codes of practice relevant to shooting sports
and animal welfare, relating to matters such as air rifle and
shotgun safety, avian and mammalian trapping, fox snaring and
lamping (night shooting). BASC is a member organisation of the
Code of Good Shooting Practice and has also provided expertise
in the development of international standards for testing humane
animal traps.
8. BASC is an active member of the Partnership
for Action Against Wildlife Crime (PAW), a multi-agency body comprised
of representatives of all the organisations actively involved
in wildlife law enforcement including the police, HM Customs and
Excise, RSPCA and RSPB and a wide range of animal welfare organisations.
Its main objectives are to promote and support the enforcement
of wildlife conservation legislation, particularly through assisting,
advising and supporting Police Wildlife Crime Officers. The secretariat
is provided by Defra.
THE DRAFT
ANIMAL WELFARE
BILL
9. BASC notes that the draft Animal Welfare
Bill focuses on the welfare of domestic animals. The welfare of
wild animals is already covered by other legislation, such as
the Game Acts, the Animal Welfare Act 1911, the Wildlife and Countryside
Act 1981 and the Wild Mammals (Protection) Act 1996. Nevertheless
the Draft Bill impacts on shooting sports as it relates to the
raising of gamebirds and the use of dogs in lawful shooting and
pest control activities.
10. BASC further notes that the last Labour
Manifesto contained an explicit pledge "not to restrict"
shooting sports. Defra Ministers have sought to involve shooting
interests in the consultation on the draft Bill. Consultation
has been extensive and Defra have made it clear that they will
honour the manifesto pledge.
11. Our submission deals principally with
two issues: the docking of the tails of dogs used in shooting
sports and the raising of gamebirds.
TAIL DOCKING
12. Clause 1(4) of the draft Bill proposes
a ban on mutilations, including the docking of dogs' tails. However,
Clause 1(5) provides for exemptions to be made. In the papers
accompanying the draft Bill and elsewhere Defra Ministers have
undertaken to provide for an exemption for working dogs. These
include gundogs, dogs used in pest and predator control and sniffer
dogs used by the police. Our comments are confined to dogs used
in shooting sports and pest and predator control.
13. BASC regularly surveys its membership
for details of their involvement in sporting shooting. Our records
show that in 2001 70% of BASC members owned at least one gundog,
which equates to more than 140,000 dogs belonging to BASC members
alone. The BASC Gamekeepers' survey in 1991 found that 75% of
spaniels owned by gamekeepers were used for beating and 70% were
used for picking up. 46% of hunter pointer retrievers (HPRs) owned
by gamekeepers were used for beating and 43% for picking up. The
survey also found that 95% of terriers owned by gamekeepers were
used for pest and predator control.
14. There is recognition that these dogs
are particularly prone to tail injury in the course of their work.
Terriers used in legitimate pest and predator control work on
shoots are required to work underground in confined spaces. These
dogs have been docked to ensure that they do not lacerate their
tails on sharp roots or stones when working. Breeds such as spaniels
and HPRs often work in thick cover flushing or retrieving game
birds. If not docked their tails are prone to severe laceration,
causing unnecessary suffering. In addition dogs may lose their
confidence and their working lives may be ended.
15. For this reason the tails of gundogs
have traditionally been docked and very few examples exist of
undocked dogs working in the field. Photographic evidence of severe
laceration is available for these few cases. Because the vast
majority of gundogs are docked it is impossible to undertake a
scientific study of the result of not docking the tails of gundogs,
as some have suggested. To do so would require breeding and training
dogs which are not docked and working them in the field. This
process could take up to five years and in our opinion would result
in unjustified and unnecessary suffering for the animals involved.
16. Breeders, handlers and owners of gundogs
are deeply concerned by the welfare of their dogs. A gundog is
not only a shooting companion, but is often essential to the success
of a shooting day. The proper use of a gundog ensures that unintentionally
wounded quarry is swiftly retrieved and humanely despatched. As
a result of this BASC recommends to its members that no one should
shoot without access to a dog. Indeed recommendation 293 of the
report of the panel of inquiry into shooting and angling convened
by the RSPCA and country sports bodies in 1976 (The Medway Report
1979) endorsed this advice. The RSPCA still calls upon all shooters
to follow the recommendations of this report.
17. BASC is involved in discussions with
welfare groups and Defra officials about the details of the exemption
to be provided for working dogs. We understand that Defra is considering
guidelines which will allow vets to dock the tail of a puppy having
certified that the puppy is intended for use as a working dog.
BASC supports the introduction of such a system for dogs used
in shooting sports.
18. It is essential that the system recognises
the welfare benefits of prophylactic docking for working dogs.
The evidence demanded of the breeder or owner must be realistic,
proportionate and not overly burdensome. It is important to recognise
that many people who work gundogs do not shoot but enjoy the rewards
of working the dogs themselves by picking up or beating on shoots.
19. BASC believes that the guidelines should
accept as evidence:
— Membership of a field trial or working
dog association
or in the absence of this one of the following:
— Possession of a shotgun/firearm certificate
— Possession of membership of a recognised
shooting association
— Written evidence from landowners,
gamekeepers or shoot managers of participation in shooting sports.
20. BASC further believes that for the welfare
of the dogs the guidelines should specify that docking is undertaken
as early as possible—in other words before the litters'
eyes have opened at ten to thirteen days after birth. Subsequent
docking should be only be undertaken to resolve continued suffering
as a result of regular or substantial damage to an undocked tail.
21. BASC would welcome the Committee's support
for its position as its deliberations with Defra and others about
these matters continue.
REARING OF
GAMEBIRDS
22. Sporting shooting involves the rearing
of birds such as pheasants, partridges and mallard duck to supplement
wild stocks or to establish a resident population where one is
not present. Rearing is undertaken commercially by game farmers
or by gamekeepers on some shoots. It is regulated by an existing
voluntary code of practice and established game farms are regularly
inspected by the RSPCA.
23. Clause 6 of the draft Bill permits the
national authority (ie. the Secretary of State in England) to
make regulations for the purpose of promoting the welfare of animals
kept by man. Clauses 7 to 10 make provision for the national authority
to prepare, consult on, issue, revoke or amend Codes of Practice
for this purpose. Provisions are included for placing such a code
before Parliament for approval.
24. These provisions will apply to the welfare
of birds reared for game shooting because during the rearing process
they fall under the Bill's definition of being "kept by man"
(Clause 54 (2)). They are considered to be in "a wild state"
when they are released and therefore outside the scope of the
Bill.
25. Defra Ministers have said that they
intend to approve the existing Game Farmers' Code of Practice
which is already endorsed by BASC. BASC supports this course of
action and is currently being consulted by Defra officials about
the matter. Again, we would welcome the Committee's support for
the Government's current approach.
THE APPOINTMENT
OF INSPECTORS
BY LOCAL
AUTHORITIES
26. Under the terms of the Bill (Clause
44), local authorities are given powers to appoint inspectors
for the purposes of the Bill. Local authorities must have regard
to guidance issued by the Secretary of State, who may draw up
a list of persons suitable for appointment. Defra officials have
indicated that the Department does not intend to consult with
interested parties about this guidance. We invite the Committee
to seek clarification from Defra about exactly what its intentions
are with regard to this matter.
TRAPS
27. Schedule 3 of the Bill repeals those
provisions of the Protection of Animals Act 1911 which refer to
the checking of traps. It has been suggested that the Government
will seek to include in the Animal Welfare Bill a new clause to
replace those provisions. To do so would extend the scope of the
Bill to wild animals, to which it does not currently apply, which
would obviously potentially raise many wider issues.
28. BASC has been involved in discussions
with Defra regarding the use and inspection of humane traps and
snares. Defra's view is that snares and traps form a valuable
means of pest and predator control and that emphasis should be
placed on encouraging best practice through education. Within
the last year BASC has submitted proposals to Defra to deliver
such education. We would welcome clarification from the Government
of what exactly are its intentions are with regard to this legislation.
24 August 2004
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