BASC challenges proposal to ban hunting wild mammals with dogs in Northern Ireland
BASC is urging John Blair MLA to make his commitment to shooting public following private reassurance that shooting interests will not be impacted.
Get information on the legal shooting season for mammals and birds in the UK.
Learn about our current conservation projects and how you can get involved.
Comprehensive information and advice from our specialist firearms team.
Everything you need to know about shotgun, rifle and airgun ammunition.
Find our up-to-date information, advice and links to government resources.
Everything you need to know on firearms law and licensing.
All the latest news and advice on general licences and how they affect you.
Agriculture and Rural Affairs Minister Edwin Poots MLA has agreed to support organisations challenging the poor performance of the Police Service of Northern Ireland’s (PSNI) Firearms and Explosive Branch (FEB).
Minister Poots gave his backing during a meeting with the Northern Ireland Firearms Representative Group (NIFRG), which represents nine national and local shooting and countryside organisations.
The meeting was arranged following the declaration last June by the PSNI of a ‘critical incident’ within FEB, as it deals with a backlog of more than 3,000 applicants.
The NIFRG highlighted the economic impact of such failings in the licensing system and raised concerns over the PSNI’s apparent failure to procure a ‘fit for purpose’ IT system and the lack of training for FEB staff prior to implementation of that system.
The NIFRG claims the licensing system is now broken beyond repair and says relationships with the PSNI are at an all-time low.
The Minister shared the group’s concerns and agreed that the situation was wholly unacceptable. The Minister also agreed to several specific actions to help fix the current crisis.
An NIFRG spokesperson said: “We thank Minister Poots for taking time out of his busy schedule to listen to our concerns and offer his assistance.
“The crisis is having a very real impact on all aspects of sporting shooting in Northern Ireland including firearms dealers, shooting grounds and sporting estates, many of whom are small, family-run, rural businesses. Many of these businesses and their staff are facing a very uncertain future as a direct result of FEB’s inability to deliver an effective, efficient service. The viability of local community gun clubs who deliver important conservation work and opportunities for recreation in our countryside is also being affected.
“Licensing delays of six to nine months and, in some cases, up to and over a year, are unacceptable under any circumstances. This crisis not only impacts on the reputation of FEB but also that of the wider police service generally.”
Want to read more news from BASC Northern Ireland? Head to our dedicated pages here.
BASC is urging John Blair MLA to make his commitment to shooting public following private reassurance that shooting interests will not be impacted.
Eighteen police forces are taking more than 100 days to turn around applications.
Representatives of four UK police forces met with BASC teams over two days to discuss issues around firearms and firearms licensing.
Sign up to our weekly newsletter and get all the latest updates straight to your inbox.
© 2023 British Association for Shooting and Conservation. Registered Office: Marford Mill, Rossett, Wrexham, LL12 0HL – Registered Society No: 28488R. BASC is a trading name of the British Association for Shooting and Conservation Limited which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) under firm reference number 311937.
If you have any questions or complaints about your BASC membership insurance cover, please email us. More information about resolving complaints can be found on the FCA website or on the EU ODR platform.
This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.
Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.
If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.
This website uses Google Analytics to collect anonymous information such as the number of visitors to the site, and the most popular pages.
Keeping this cookie enabled helps us to improve our website.
Please enable Strictly Necessary Cookies first so that we can save your preferences!
More information about our Cookie Policy