Shooting and its £68m boost to the economy

The tweed jackets, flat caps, horses and hounds are symbols of privilege, relics of a bygone era.

Yet the reality is a little different.

Shooting and hunting may take place on historic estates and attract the super wealthy.

But those involved are spread throughout the whole strata of society.

Economic boost

The British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC) estimates shooting benefits the South East economy by £370 million.

For Sussex this means a windfall of £68 million at a conservative estimate.

This means 2,425 jobs across the whole supply chain, including around 500 in conservation.

By the same estimate some 37,000 people take part in some form of shooting in Sussex.

Latest figures from 2013 show 20,235 shotgun certificates and 6,155 firearms certificates are on issue in Sussex - and a good number of the 1.6 million people who hunt with airguns in the South East reside in Sussex.

There are also countless others who do not shoot but who work gundogs or go beating on pheasant shoots during the shooting season for example.

Dan Reynolds, regional director of BASC, said: “Shooting is a feature on most areas of rural land in Sussex, and as a county it attracts a lot of people from outside the area, from the UK and overseas.

“That provides income not only to the estates but also local service providers such as pubs and restaurants and the like who will be utilised by visiting shooters.

“It’s certainly having a substantial impact in the county.”

Prestigious South Downs estates include Norfolk Estate, Knepp Castle and Angmering Park.

While some may shoot purely for sport, game meat is a nutritious food source which many argue is a more sustainable alternative to factory farming.

Dan Reynolds added: “We are seeing things like venison and woodpigeon more and more in the mainstream supermarkets.

“There’s obviously a market for it – in terms of popularity it has shot up.

“Some of that is down to celebrity chefs like Jamie Oliver and High Fearnley-Whittingstall.

“People are a bit more interested in where their food comes from.”

Sustainable food

The association’s food organisation Taste of Game has teamed up with the Brighton and Hove Food and Drink Festival to promote game to the public.

A gala wine dinner at Hotel du Vin will celebrate the abundance of seasonal game meats on our doorstep in Sussex.

Hotel head-chef Rob Carr will create a four-course menu including venison, rabbit and game birds, on September 10.

Nick Mosley, director of the Brighton and Hove Food and Drink Festival, said: “We’re privileged in Sussex to have access to so much seasonal game meat, whether truly wild or estate-managed.

“Game meats are environmentally sustainable, leaner than most farmed meats, locally sourced – supporting huge swathes of our rural economy – and, most importantly, they taste really good.

“We’re working with the British Association of Shooting and Conservation in the Autumn Harvest food festival to raise awareness of local game meat, and to dispel a few myths about game management.

“I would encourage anyone who enjoys quality meat to visit their local butcher and ask them about what seasonal Sussex game they can source, and their tips on how to prepare and cook the meat to perfection.

“Venison, wood pigeon and rabbit are available pretty much year-round, whilst partridge, grouse and pheasant are just coming into season now.”

A series of game meet demos will take place at the festival with chefs including Matt Gillan from The Pass, near Horsham, Josh Kitson from 64 Degrees, Dave Mothersill from The Coal Shed and Alun Sperring from The Chilli Pickle. There will be a free live food show stage on Hove Lawns and game bird preparation masterclasses on September 6 and 7.

One game dealer who trades via farmers’ markets and wholesalers said the business game meats was increasing year-on-year.

Jack Smallman, director of South Downs Venison and Game based near Petworth, said: “It’s a growing business, which is certainly going it the right direction.

“Substantial numbers”

“We have substantial numbers of deer coming through each year within a 20 mile radius – more than 1,000 every eight month season.

“But we’re looking for quality rather than spinning it into pound notes. We take our time and make sure each carcus is in spot-on condition.

“People’s appetites are getting more discerning. They don’t want something that’s been too heavily processed.

“They want an animal that’s been left to its own devices and that has a life it’s enjoyed.

“The other thing is the health benefits. Game, particularly venison is low in cholesterol and fat and high minerals such as selenium.”

As well as the economic benefits around food and shooting, there are also conservation and safety arguments.

Ashdown Forest has a significant population of wild deer after it was first enclosed as a royal hunting park in the thirteenth century.

Over the centuries, red deer have disappeared while the population of fallow deer has grown from zero at the end of the 17th century to very high numbers today.

The wild deer are no longer the property of the Crown but are wild animals and are the responsibility of the landowner.

Collision hotspot

The growing numbers have come at a price, with the A22 near the forest identified as a hotspot for deer-vehicle collisions and 176 reported in the last year.

It is estimated some 20,000 deer could live in the county with more than 600 hit and killed in Sussex in 2012.

The high numbers of collisions have empowered calls for controlled culling, with shooting considered the most humane way to kill deer.

Training providers have seen an increase in people wanting to take up NVQ-style qualifications in deer stalking.

Stanton Royle, a trainer for the BACS at Fittleworth Rifle Club, said: “There are around 1.2 million in the UK and they cause 50,000 to 80,000 collisions a year.

“They are quite destructive. They can do a lot of damage to standing crops and vehicles.

“It’s a problem that’s countywide. A lot of people are concerned with the numbers.”

Safe gun use

As well as safe gun use, course participants learn how to identify a healthy deer in the event it is put into the food chain.

They learn to inspect a carcass and vital organs and only pass if they can hit a four-inch target from 100 metres for a safe and humane kill.

Mr Royle believes shooting is the best way to manage deer populations.

He said: “If you can approach a beast and shoot it cleanly and humanely it won’t be in distress and the meat won’t toughen up as a result.

“Some people say ‘why not let nature take its course?’ But man has already had so much impact on nature.

“We are a very self regulated industry and there are very few incidents. Of course there are some irresponsible people, that’s human nature, but if that’s the case we say take them away.”

“Re-wilding”

One historic estate that straddles the boundaries between wild and managed parkland is Knepp Castle near East Grinstead.

The park is home to several hundred fallow deer and scores of red deer which freely roam much of the 3,500 acre like wild animals.

The public can also wander the land and seek out the furtive animals.

Organised safaris are available via 4x4 – with plans for wildlife excursions via horseback in the pipeline.

The animals are carefully managed by gamekeeper Dan Readfern who picks out individuals by rifle, which are hung in the estate’s larder and sent on to suppliers South Downs Venison and Game.

Sales of high-quality beef, pork and venison ensure the estate is viably producing.

The presence of wild deer is part of a ‘re-wilding’ project following the collapse of agricultural profitability.

Knepp Castle, a gothic mansion by John Nash built in the early 19th century to replace the original castle ruin, was opened up to pioneering ecological land regeneration and wildlife conservation with the restoration of 2,500 acres.

Fallow deer, Exmoor ponies, old English longhorn cattle and Tamworth pigs were introduced as part of a new ecological grazing system.

The new model is designed to explore alternative ways to cut costs of unproductive ex-agricultural while reinvigorating the landscape and wildlife.

Amy Nightingale, resident ecologist and safari guide, said: “With the re-wilding project in 2001 we have seen the natural resurgence in wildlife and nature beginning to manage itself again.

“Rather than us ploughing the land and adding fertilizers we are letting nature get on with it.

“We also have the river restoration project and the land is much less susceptible to flooding as a result. We’re also seeing all sorts of birds and butterflies return.”