A BASC initiative to build and install thousands of bird boxes around Lancashire and the North of England has been featured on the BBC.
Father and son team Lewis and Ian Bretherton have spent lockdown making hundreds of BASC-branded boxes to be sent out to shoots and conservation projects.
BASC bird boxes have also been incredibly popular with national politicians. The scheme has been endorsed by cabinet ministers, the Leader of the House of Commons, the deputy leader of the Labour Party, leader of the Liberal Democrats and 32 other backbenchers – all of whom have put up their own BASC bird box.
There are even BASC bird boxes in Germany and Canada.
The BBC picked up the story last night to highlight the positive work that has been done for conservation during lockdown.
Duncan Thomas, BASC director for the north of England, said: “This is an incredibly positive story for shooting in that is showcases how much work our community does for conservation.
“This is often unseen work. Many hundreds and thousands of hours of hard graft are put in up and down the country to help support the fantastic habitats that are all around us.
“Lewis and Ian have spent days and weeks on this project during lockdown and it was brilliant to see the BBC give them the credit they deserve. The birdboxes are already seeing success and a monitoring project is underway to see the varied species that are using them.
“BASC and the Northern Shooting Community has provided the funds and hard-wear and tools but Lewis and Ian Bretherton have provided the enthusiasm, hours and the dedication.
“The journalist asked us why shooters would care about songbirds and this gave us the perfect opportunity to educate the wider public about the wider benefits of shooting to conservation.”
Jak Abrahams, BASC’s political advisor, instigated the scheme and he said: “It’s been quite remarkable to see how popular the humble bird-box has been. There is a genuine passion among politicians and the wider public to encourage wildlife and it has been fantastic to see lockdown being used with such a positive outcome.”
