BASC is advising members that all outdoor shooting activities, including driven game shooting and other types of group shooting, can resume in England from Wednesday, December 2.
This follows an announcement by Prime Minister Boris Johnson of his ‘Winter Plan’ for dealing with Covid 19.
He said that organised outdoor sports and physical activity can resume in England, regardless of the tiered system which he plans to introduce on December 2. The details of those tiers are expected to be released on Thursday and will then be voted on by Parliament.
But BASC is now advising that all shooting can resume so long as it is done in a Covid-safe manner.
BASC England director Dan Reynolds said: “It has been a frustrating couple of weeks for the shooting community, not least because there was genuine confusion around the date on which shooting could resume. But government has now cleared that up and we are looking forward to getting back out on December 2.
“Based on the latest guidance, driven shooting will be free to resume in England. While we await final news of the tiered system and the final legal regulation, people can at last begin to look forward to heading back to the field in the weeks before Christmas.
“The reaction from the shooting community to the restrictions across the UK has been overwhelming. The pandemic has impacted us all, socially, economically and by bringing about some difficult questions, but the resolute determination from our members has been first class.
“BASC has dealt with thousands of membership enquiries over November, the feedback from my team has been wholly positive. We have been working non-stop to ensure our members have the most up to date information to hand. Constant communication with the highest level of government has allowed us to be a leader in this aspect.
“Be under no illusion that this pandemic has not yet finished impacting our lives, we must ensure our activities for the rest of the season and going forward remain inside the law and do not damage shooting’s reputation”
“BASC has published the Covid Code and detailed guidance for game shoots in England, we advise people to follow that so that their shooting remains Covid safe in the weeks and months ahead.”
