NGO headline sponsors of the first ever Trusted Game conference

The 7th and 8th of February saw the first ever Trusted Game conference, kindly hosted at the Englefield Estate in Berkshire.
 
The NGO were the headline sponsors of this sell-out event, also sponsored by Marsdens Game Feeds, Elanco, and ECO Animal Health.
 
Delegates heard from speakers across the globe give an insight into the world of game management, future threats, and what we can do to secure the future of shooting sports and gamekeeping here in the UK. 
 
Bill MacFarlane of Macfarlane Pheasants in Winsconsin, USA, gave a perspective on the very different world of pheasant breeding, marketing and delivery in the US, and Laurent Soullard of Gibovendee France, spoke about European game production.
 
Tim Weston of the NGO pressed home the continued need for gamekeepers and those in the shooting community to ensure they know their legal requirements and to operate within the codes of practice. We all need to call out bad practice if we see it, and work to promote the good work that keepers and shoots do up and down the country.

 

On the final day of the conference, delegates were delighted to be addressed by The Right Honourable Lord Benyon, Minister of State at Defra. He highlighted the importance of peer pressure among the shooting community when it comes to those who let us down through creating negative headlines and images.

 

Without the good work of gamekeepers, he said, the government "would not be hitting our target to reduce the decline of biodiversity by 2030. Gamekeeping delivers this at no cost to the taxpayer, but we need to tell people about that."

 

"There is a story to tell of the virtue of what we all do", he said. "We need to get out there and tell it."

After the event, NGO Chairman David Pooler said:

‘The excellent range of speakers made this a fascinating and educational event and certainly lent us food for thought about the future of shooting and what we can do to secure it. The NGO looks forward to supporting the next Trusted Game Conference in 2025.'