Countryside Alliance is complaining to BBC about Chris Packham for ‘encouraging criminal behaviour’ over his support for anti-hunt saboteurs who blocked Ian Botham’s grouse shooting party

• The Countryside Alliance say Chris Packham is supporting the ‘masked thugs’
• The BBC star praised hunt saboteurs who disrupted a Peak District grouse shoot
• Ian Botham was among the hunters waiting to shoot grouse on Snailsden Moor

The Countryside Alliance is set to make a formal complaint to the BBC about presenter Chris Packham for ‘encouraging criminal behaviour’ because of his support for anti-hunt saboteurs who blocked cricket legend Ian Botham from grouse shooting.

A group of black-clad demonstrators called the Hunt Saboteurs Association descended on Snailsden Moor, near Penistone in the Peak District when Lord Botham and his hunting party were preparing to go shooting on August 16.

‘Beefy’ was part of the legal shoot that was ultimately abandoned after saboteurs disrupted the party, sitting down in front of the former all-rounder’s 4×4 as part of a series of actions to disrupt the start of the season.

Packham described the efforts to disrupt the shoot as ‘top work’ on Twitter, before adding: ‘Oh dear, what a shame, next…’

The Countryside Alliance accused Packham of supporting the ‘masked thugs’ in his tweet.

Former England cricket star Ian Botham, pictured left, was angered when a planned afternoon shooting grouse on Snailsden Moor in the Peak District on August 16

Adrian Blackmore, director of shooting at the Countryside Alliance told the Telegraph: The start of the grouse season should be a time for celebration in our uplands, bringing together rural communities for whom it is so important both socially and economically and for many moors shooting on the 12th that was the case.

‘Saboteurs have a complete disregard for the lives and rights of others. Regardless of whether someone disagrees with an activity, they have no right to take the law into their own hands in order to prevent a perfectly legal pursuit from taking place.

‘No one should have to be subjected to their unlawful and selfish activities, with behaviour that is invariably unpleasant and threatening. It is appalling to see Chris Packham praising this disruption.

‘Surely the BBC can’t ignore one of its presenters publicly supporting and encouraging criminal action by others, and this is something that we will be taking up in the strongest possible terms with the corporation.’

BBC star Chris Packham praised the Hunt Saboteurs who disrupted the grouse shoot on Twitter

Police were called to the scene, which saw a lengthy stand-off between the shooting party and the protesters, with one man in his 50s arrested on suspicion of carrying a bladed article. 

On its website the Hunt Saboteurs Association said: ‘Lord Ian “Beefy” Botham is amongst the many grouse shooters heading home tonight with an empty bag, as sabs continue their rolling action across the north of England.

‘Botham’s Peak District shoot was located in the nick of time. A line of “beaters” – who use flags and whistles to scare terrified birds towards the guns – was assembling, so brave sabs took to the moor to place themselves between the grouse and the guns.

‘With the beaters completely outmanoeuvered, the shooters wisely returned to their lodge. From here a stand-off ensued, before the entire shooting party retreated off the moor.’

Lord Botham is a well known supporter of game shooting, as well as angling. 

The Countryside Alliance have criticised Chris Packham and said they are complaining to the BBC about his comments in support of ‘thugs’

The Ashes legend has previously called game shooting vital to the countryside economy and conservation on the moors, and railed against attempts to get it banned. 

He was involved in a row with Chris Packham and called for him to be sacked in 2020 after accusing the BBC Springwatch presenter of wanting to ban game shooting. 

Earlier this week, Lord Botham claimed that anti-hunt sabs ‘lack the intellectual and social skills needed to persuade’.

He wrote in The Telegraph: ‘What makes them all the more tragic is that they are so high on their self-righteousness that they cannot see that real animal welfare is about complex choices.

On its website the Hunt Saboteurs Association (demonstrators from the group are pictured) said: ‘Lord Ian “Beefy” Botham is amongst the many grouse shooters heading home tonight with an empty bag, as sabs continue their rolling action across the north of England’

One of the Saboteurs impeding on the shooting party on August 19 (some are pictured) was a ‘big cricket fan’ and they were ‘amazed to see someone in the public eye’

‘The fox they save today may decapitate a dozen chickens tonight – and eat none of them. Equally, the gamekeepers are all that stands in the way of predators devastating rare birdlife.

‘The moors I walk across are abundant with curlews, merlins, short eared owls and golden plover because their predators are controlled.’

One of the saboteurs impeding on the shooting party on August 19 included a big cricket fan, The Sun reports, with another member adding: ‘He recognised Beefy immediately.

‘We were amazed to see someone famous, it was a privilege for us crusty sabs to meet someone in the public eye – but he was very annoyed and didn’t seem pleased to see us.’

Grouse shooting in the UK

Grouse shooting takes two main forms in the UK: driven shooting and walked-up, often with dogs.

The season extends from 12 August, called the Glorious Twelfth, to 10 December every year.

Driven grouse shooting is the hunting of the red grouse, often regarded as the ‘paragon of gamebirds’ as they are speedy and their agility makes for challenging shooting. 

Driven grouse shooting is when birds are flushed by a line of beaters and fly over people shooting, called the ‘Guns’ who are sat in a stationary line. Red grouse, pheasants and partridges are ‘driven’.

Walked-up shooting is when the participants walk across the moorland and flushing birds as they go, quite often using dogs to help find grouse. Red grouse are shot ‘walked-up’.

The grouse shooting industry is worth an estimated £67 million, and creates hundreds of jobs, aiding the British economy.  

England’s moorland owners have dedicated more than £50million annual spend on the conservation of threatened species, with the money gained from grouse shooting contributing to aiding in this.

The game management controls any overpopulation of the grouse which may occur. 

Species such as the golden plover and the lapwing have benefited from this management. 

The shoot helps to provide game meat to be sold by retailers, which is becoming increasingly popular in the UK, and has also led to British Association for Shooting Conversation releasing limited edition crisps, flavoured with grouse and pheasant.

The UK government responded to a petition looking to ban driven grouse shooting in 2016 by saying: ‘When in accordance with the law, grouse shooting for sport is a legitimate activity and in addition to its significant economic contribution, providing jobs and investment in some of our most remote areas, it can offer important benefits for wildlife and habitat conservation.’

 Sources: Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust and Fur, Feather and Fin

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