The land recorded by shooters using BASC’s Green Shoots Mapping website – which allows users to map their shoots and record the wildlife and habitats found on them – is double the amount of land designated as National Nature Reserves (NNRs) in the UK.
BASC members have logged wildlife over 4,500 square kilometres, compared to the NNRs, which cover around 2,200 square kilometres.
The website, set up in 2012, provides a great opportunity for shooters to log evidence of the huge positive influence that shooting has on wildlife and nature. It was highlighted in The Value of Shooting report that around 3.9 million work days are collectively spent on conservation each year by those involved in shooting, equating to 16,000 full-time jobs.
Ian Danby, BASC’s Head of Biodiversity Projects, said: “We know that the records our members can provide have a high value for conservation knowledge, because it provides data on the distribution of species at the UK scale, filling in gaps in knowledge.
“In addition, it can also start to produce trends on how those species and habitats are changing over time. To that end, in March we will be asking our members to review habitat and species lists for their shoots so we can start to track changes in wildlife.
“As this knowledge builds we envisage it will become a central part of national monitoring programmes for the health of our countryside.”