Countryside Alliance - love the countryside

On this page you will find advice and regulations for shoots on a range of issues, designed to help promote sustainable, best practice shooting in the UK. Should you require hard copies of any of these publications please email This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

In time for the 2009 season the Countryside Alliance has sent a shooting campaign update to its shooting supporters. The update outlines "ten ways we are protecting shooting", provides a UK political update alongside one from the EU and also details must-have information for shooting members, such as the "Code of Good Shooting Practice (also available below)." The update is now available online too. Download the 2009 season shooting update here

Code of Good Shooting Practice. In Autumn 2008 the major organisations representing shooting, of which the Countryside Alliance is one, have launched an improved version of the Code of Good Shooting Practice. Click here to download a copy. This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it This extract from the foreword sums up the need for the code: ‘We must never be complacent about the future of shooting. Shooting and shoot management practices will be judged by the way participants and providers behave. Our sport is under constant and detailed scrutiny and we must demonstrate that we conduct it to high standards. The Code of Good Shooting Practice brings together these standards and makes them easily available to all who participate.’

Gun Safety - The most important aspect of shooting sports, this leaflet provides an overview on gun safety - including handling, behaviour in the field, maintenance, security, ammunition and noise. Click here to download a copy.

Preparing a risk assessment for your shoot. A case reported in Shooting Times magazine in early 2008 highlighted the importance of health and safety on shoots. Seven saboteurs were acquitted on 14th April of aggravated trespass because the shoot in question did not have a written health and safety policy. Any shoot with five or more employees is required by law to have a written health and safety policy and risk assessment. A risk assessment of the shoot is in line with the Code of Good Shooting Practice and the Game Shoot Standard Assurance Scheme. Download a simple dummy risk assessment giving a few worked examples of risks shoots might face. It is not a definitive guide, but the format is HSE approved. Click here for the Countryside Alliance's advice.

Making the most of your game, 2008 edition. The Countryside Alliance’s Game-to-Eat Campaign has updated its “Making the most of your game” leaflet to help increase still further the massive growth in the game market and its increasing popularity. This functional leaflet is informative for everyone within the industry and has information under such headings as “Installing a Chiller”, “Selling Game in Small Quantities”, “European Food Hygiene Regulations” and “Processing game”. Click here to download the leaflet.

The Wild Game Guide is a new guide to food hygiene legislation for people who shoot wild game and supply it either in-fur or in-feather or as small quantities of wild game meat. It gives information on hygiene regulations and ways to make sure meat is safe to eat. The Food Standards Agency produced the guide in partnership with the Meat Hygiene Policy Forum Working Group and the Wild Game Group, which is made up of stakeholders from the wild game meat industry, including the Countryside Alliance. You can read the guide here.