The Game Fair was held at Ragley Hall again on the last weekend in July. The weather was ideal, fine but not too hot. Having taken over an hour to drive the last couple of miles last year, I set out early with a flask of coffee and biscuits for breakfast in the queue. In the event, I arrived at 8 am and was parked five minutes later. Luckily, the GWCT (Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust) had some excellent pastries and coffee as I attended an early press release.
The showground seemed to be better laid out this year with broader avenues and more open space. As a result, some suggested that there were less people there but I think it was just the extra space. Certainly, the organisers claimed a record crowd but the only figure I have seen is 119,378 for 2021. As usual, the event started with a mass firing of black powder in the main ring.
For those who have never been, it is a huge celebration of country sports, from shooting to falconry, fishing to dog competitions, said to be the largest in Europe. There is always a great atmosphere, cheerful and friendly, but last year was exceptional coming after months of lockdown and restrictions. This year, the mood was remarkably upbeat considering the challenges that country sports face, especially lowland shooting.
Debates and talks are held in a marquee, the Game Fair Theatre, sponsored by Carter Jonas. I attended two, the first a discussion about the prospects for the forthcoming shooting season. Of the two commercial shoots represented, one had seen the writing on the wall and hurriedly caught up some hens and set up a rearing field. It will have poults to release and sold days can be achieved, although the quality of the birds may be dubious. Catching up hens at the end of the season begs the question of why they are still alive. It is probable that they are poor fliers and thus not ideal for breeding stock.
The other shoot represented had not been able to buy in the requisite number of pheasant or partridge poults and had thus bought ducks instead. Luckily there are some suitable ponds and there will be shooting here too, albeit not what was intended. The reason for the crisis is a significant shortage of poults, both pheasant and partridge, caused by avian influenza in France. According to one estimate, 75% of all partridges and 25% of all pheasants released in this country originate form eggs in western France, notably the Loire Valley. There has been a serious outbreak of avian influenza in the area and the consequent restrictions meant that almost no exports were possible, either of eggs or chicks.
Faced with a potential shortfall of up to 50% in the availability of poults, the Game Shooting Census found that 13% of shoots had already decided in June to close for the coming season with many more to follow, perhaps as many as 30%. The price of poults has rocketed from around £4 per head to over £10 whilst stories of shady dealings abound. Some shoots that had ordered poults and paid a deposit were told that the birds were not available with the suspicion that the birds had been sold to other shoots at greatly inflated prices. Some shoots were not aware of the problem until the poults failed to be delivered as arranged. I cannot believe that a reputable game farm would be involved but the stories persist.
Some game farms have closed flocks and rear all their own birds rather than relying on imported eggs from France. The outstanding Holme Park Hatcheries near Wokingham, for example, has been a closed flock since 1960. Keeping hen birds throughout the year is expensive which is why many game farms buy in eggs from France. Some may not survive this crisis whilst others may change their business model for future years.
The second event in the Theatre was a debate between Ian Coghill, past chairman of GWCT and author of the book Moorland Matters, and Duncan Orr-Ewing of the RSPB. Comments were predictable with the RSPB restating its opposition to the management of grouse moors for shooting despite increasing evidence that it is hugely beneficial to wildlife, including a recent report from the Scottish Government emphasising the economic and environmental benefits of grouse shooting.
Elsewhere the show was similar to previous years although some firms have not come back after Covid, notably Bright Seeds whose colourful stand was always a welcome place to visit. The British Game Assurance stand had moved from the food area to a more central location and was next to the Country Food Trust, the splendid charity that produces meals based on game to feed people in need. Set up in 2015, each year it provides well over a million meals to people in food poverty. With the cost of living crisis biting ever deeper, its work has never been more important. Not surprisingly, it was one of the stands visited by the Princess Royal.
Commercial shoots have suffered a series of challenges over the past three years with this coming after the restrictions of Covid lockdowns. Although some will continue as normal, particularly those that rear their own birds, others will offer fewer days with smaller bags whilst many have closed altogether. This will have a significant impact on the rural economy and may lead to redundancies, not least of game keepers. The shortage of birds on top of escalating costs of feed and fuel have led to a large rise in the price charged for shooting with one report of over £100 per bird shot. There are many who feel that a fundamental reorganisation of the shooting sector is overdue with a return to farmer shoots and syndicates, fewer days and smaller bags with a greater emphasis on camaraderie and conservation. This crisis might just be the tipping point to achieve that.