This year at the annual Game Fair we managed to meet up with some of our friends and talk about all things shooting, fishing, wild food and countryside management. Richard had lined up a few meetings, and was asked by Richard Negus if he would share some of his thoughts about the future of shooting in the UK for a feature in the Shooting Times and on the Shooting Show.
Richard and Tommy delve into how more recent changes in the way that the outdoors is presented to people, and even the psychology of what we eat, is affecting the overall picture of what it means to be out hunting whether for sport or food. They discuss whether it could be that we are not educating people enough about what hunting entails and how it is important for our economy, culture and wildlife conservation as a whole. The changes in access laws in the early 2000s, and increased availability of outdoors equipment at affordable prices have enabled more people to spend time outdoors in wilder places, trying to connect with nature. However we haven’t seen an increase in understanding of these environments. What we have actually witnessed is a sense of entitlement that humans should be able to use the rest of nature to help themselves and to enjoy themselves, wild spaces are now seen more as a playground to visit than an intrinsic part of our life.
As part of his interest in how hunting is perceived, regulated and how land access works in other countries, Matt invited Richard onto his show to talk about the UK. The pair discuss firearms licencing, the lengthy tradition of shooting in the UK, land ownership and accessibility for newcomers into hunting. They also talk in depth about how hunting and firearms are perceived in the UK by the general public and the influence that American hunting publicity has on the culture here.
Back in November 2018 I spent a couple of days working on two articles for VICE - one was taking renowned sandwich chef Max Halley foraging for edibles on a North Wales beach, and for the other I wandered around a damp forest with writer Angela Hui and photographer Elijah Thomas. Each piece was part of a wider project promoting the idea of 'microgapping' in the UK.