So, Chris Packham wants a truce. He wants to be shooting’s friend and offer us a way to salvation; a way out of the troubles he insists are leading us down the path to our own destruction.
Or is he actually creating an opportunity to say to the wider public that he offered words of reconciliation but the shooting community threw them right back in his face?
What Mr Packham won’t tell non-shooting journalists and newspapers in the week before the Glorious 12th is the full story, the fact this ceasefire he offers must be all on his terms. He won’t tell those journalists how much he has done to polarise and entrench the debate – perhaps too much.
Even in the magazine article in which he calls for a truce, Mr Packham inflames an already heated debate by saying: “Don’t underestimate outrage, it tears down statues and takes control without prisoners.”
And while he talks of the restoration of friendly relations, in the background he continues to run shooting through the courts on the back of the General Licence fiasco that brought the great British countryside to its knees last year, and threatened conservation work and livelihoods.
Shooting’s response must be measured, acceptable and continue the excellent work we are already doing. Some of the reactions we saw in the General Licence debacle played straight into the hands of those who want to vilify us. This cannot be repeated.
But shooting will not be played. We are happy to sit down with anybody and any group if we believe their intentions are honest, proper and underpinned by their actions.
We are happy to discuss with anyone willing to listen and engage in a positive manner about how and why shooting continues to be a success story.
That’s why governments and decision makers continue to recognise the remarkable benefits shooting provides to our economy and environment. https://basc.org.uk/packhams-truce/
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