"Holyrood, the Scottish political affairs magazine which is read by MSPs, political and party staff and many others."

www.holyrood.com/nav/publications/magazine/issue140/con...px?content=feature03

****Quote: Colin Shedden, Scottish director of the British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC), the peak representative body for both sporting shooters and professionals such as gamekeepers and stalkers, says that European Food Hygiene Regulations coming into force on 1 January 2006 will require those killing quarry such as deer and grouse for human consumption to be ‘trained hunters'.****

Strange - it's my understanding that the regulations quoted require those SELLING quarry to Game Dealers to be 'trained hunters.'

Understand the need for bullshit to baffle brains - but this is just a BASC rep pandering to the suggestion that you should have a formal qualification prior to shooting game in the UK.

My concern is that the major bodies look on training as being a major revenue generator. A compulsary qualification?? ......... even better, guaranteed income at whatever price the market will bear! Hmmmm!

IanF,
I belive the legislation that came into force on January 1st 2006 was the "meat handling"legislation and not the trained hunter scheme.This is required by all those who sell or give game away.

regards

griff

griff,

now I am confused and I thought I had it sorted out.

I was under the impresion that it was the EU Food Handling regs came into force on Jan 1st 2006 which meant that only trained hunters (paid up cerificate holders) could sell game onto game dealers. Which effectively imposed a date on those amongst us who wished to sell game after that date.

We are though allowed to give away small quantities of game, whatever a small quantity is, to friends, hotels and pubs in our local area.

It should not be complicated at all really, it does, afterall, come from the European Parliament.

John

JAYB,
now I'm confused!!
My understanding of the legislation being heaped upon us was: the meat handling was for commercial shoots, and the trained hunter was for the individual who does not exceed a certain quota both theses being nessecary for us to sell to a game dealer, but not a requirement to shoot game.I think that on commercial shoots there has to be a designated person who has the meat handling certificate, otherwise the game is unsaleable,because, wait for it, all game dealers must see the either the meat handling certificate or the trained hunter certificate, if they do not ask and accept game they are breaking the law...
Now I am really confused and need to go and lay down.
regards

griff

JAYB,
just one other thought, as a trained hunter we should not need to produce the pluck to a game dealer as we are self certifying.
just a thought!

griff

Thanks gents - that is the thrust of what I am saying.

The quote from a BASC rep suggests that every one KILLING game will have to be a 'Trained Hunter'.

The fact is, the 'trained hunter' is merely a term for someone qualified under the EU Food Handling Regs to pass game meat into the system.

The quote could be read (coincidentally, I'm sure) as implying that every one KILLING game will be qualified after January 1st 06.

We ain't - we don't have to be & the law has not changed as was suggested.

rgds Ian

Taking Ians post a little further, my understand is that under the new regs, the onus is on the gamedealer to ensure that people supplying him are approriately knowledgable..BACS and various other bodies have suggested the easiest way to demonstrate this is by the appropriate qualification..So, I would say that it your gamedealer is happy that your up to scratch with your carcass handling ect, there's no need to rush out and speand on an expensive bit of paper...

Guys, you have to understand the BASC plan for world domination. The BASC will not be happy until every firearm owner in the UK is "trained" qualified and insured by the BASC. At the shooters own, considerable expence. They want a monopoly on this.

Too many other organisations are jumping on the BASC bandwagon, not least, various Police forces.

This is effectively the law already in N Ireland. The PSNI will not issue a permit for a deer legal centrefire without DSC1. They actually state this in writing, though this position has no basis in law whatsoever.

I have just spent twenty minutes gazing at a pile of pluck, I cast the runes and came to a decision.

Liver for me, heart and kidneys for the dogs.

John