Coronavirus

The effects and implications for the shooting industry

- 

The coronavirus pandemic has had an impact on every industry imaginable, and the shooting industry is no exception. Game fairs, clay competitions and training courses have been postponed or cancelled, and the advice from our rural/shooting organisations is to cease all recreational, non-essential shooting.

Not only is this absolutely essential in order to comply with government advice on social distancing and non-essential travel, but it will also minimise the risk of putting more strain on our emergency services, either through injury or unnecessary police call-outs if a member of the public reports ‘shots fired’.

The only exceptions to this advice would be for the legal shooting of mammals and birds where absolutely essential to protect food crops and livestock and following the request of the farmer or landowner affected. If you are a gamekeeper, or a pest controller protecting food crops or livestock, clearly you cannot work from home; essential travel to work is permitted during lockdown, so long as you are able to adhere to social distancing guidelines while working, so these individuals should be safe to continue with caution. However, it may be advisable to get a letter from the employer/landowner to show to police if pulled over and questioned travelling to or from the place of work.

As ‘non-essential’ shops, it was to be expected that gun shops would close their doors, and clay grounds/shooting schools have followed suit to comply with government advice. Plenty of retailers are still offering online and delivery services though, so if you need to stock up on kit (excluding guns and ammunition, of course) do check the relevant websites.