IT IS A sad but inevitable fact that firearms licensing in Britain has been driven by tragedies in which lawfully held firearms were used to commit dreadful crimes. Governments are apt to make knee-jerk reactions, and the burden generally falls not on the criminal but on the broad mass of the lawful shooting public. Such was the case after the outrages at Hungerford in 1987 and Dunblane in 1996. The killing of five people in August 2021 in Plymouth by Jake Davison, a shotgun certificate holder whose licence had been removed but then returned to him by the police, along with the shootings in Skye and Wester Ross in August 2022 have again brought the lawful possession of firearms into sharp focus.
It is right that such events should be properly investigated so that any decisions that need to be taken are made once all the facts are known. The senior coroner who conducted the inquest into the Plymouth tragedy reported in March, and he made it patently clear that the principal failings lay with Devon & Cornwall Police. The coroner wrote of catastrophic failure in the management of the force’s firearms licensing unit, with a lack of managerial supervision, inadequate training and a catalogue of other failings that led to the outrage.
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Strength in Numbers -The success of Britain's growing band of Farmer Clusters shows the value in working together and engaging with the public in the name of conservation, says Gabriel Stone
In a world that leans into gloomy headlines, it's important to wave the flag for a refreshing success story. That's especially the case when it comes to our overburdened farming sector and the wider way in which we manage the landscape. Yes, we: everyone can play a role, not least through one inspirational initiative. Ever since a 2013 pilot project by the GWCT in association with Natural England, Farmer Clusters have mushroomed across Britain. Led by farmers with guidance from expert advisers, today's network of about 125 clusters encourages a cohesively managed, locally tailored, larger-scale approach to conservation work.
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