SHOOTING'S CONTRIBUTION TO CONSERVATION AND THE ECONOMY

That this House welcomes the publication `Shooting Sports: Findings of an economic and environmental survey' by Public and Corporate Economic Consultants, but regrets that the foreword by the Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs states that shooting `deserves to be properly debated' rather than `properly supported'; notes that shooting contributes £1.6 billion to the UK economy and provides the equivalent of 70,000 full-time jobs; further notes that shoot providers spend £260 million a year on habitat and wildlife management, such as pest control, which has had a positive effect on vulnerable species such as ground nesting birds; and further notes that without this there would be a decline in conservation of wildlife and biodiversity in two million hectares or two-thirds of the rural land area in the UK.