A meeting with the Salisbury Plain shoots - 12 May, 2025

I met with members of various Salisbury Plain shoots on Friday to discuss the problems they are having trying to renew their licence to release birds on the Plain. Labour's attack on rural communities continues with a senseless ban on shooting on Salisbury Plain this summer. The Government has handed over the power to issue shooting licenses to Natural England - the quango captured by the anti-shooting lobby - and NE have decided pheasants could infect rare birds like the stone curfew with avian flu. There is no evidence of this happening - but conclusive evidence that rare birds are protected by the gamekeepers who keep down the predators that eat ground-nesting birds. If this ban goes ahead shoots will go bust, gamekeepers will be laid off and the stone curlews on Salisbury Plan will be driven extinct. If Defra really cared about rare birds it would take back control from Natural England and allow the military shoots - charitable projects supporting our Army families and the local community - to carry on their vital work of looking after this precious habitat.

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