Daffodils in Farndale. Photo: James West CC-BY-SA-2.0

Daffodils in Farndale. Photo: James West CC-BY-SA-2.0

A shooters’ rights group has condemned a company after it was fined for damaging an important conservation site in a national park.

Yorks Sport Limited and director Michael Wood face a bill of £165,000 after admitting seven offences each at Farndale in the North York Moors national park.

The British Association for Shooting and Conservation said shoots should work with conservation agencies to prevent damage.

Mr Wood and the company were fined at York Crown Court. In two separate hearings, they admitted offences including building a car park, bridges and feeding devices at Farndale, which is a site of special scientific importance noted for its annual spring display of wild daffodils.

They also admitted using vehicles and changing the game management by attracting pheasants onto the SSSI – all without the necessary permission from Natural England. The offences occurred between 2006 and 2009.

The company managed pheasant shooting at the site, south of the route of the Coast to Coast Walk.

Yorks Sport and Mr Wood challenged the extent to which they had changed the game management in the SSSI and the severity of the damage this had caused. However, Judge Stephen Ashurst found that they had significantly increased the number of pheasants reared for shooting; that the decision to do so was made for commercial interests and in full knowledge of the unlawfulness of such an action; and that the increased number of birds had contributed to the significant reduction in vegetation.

Each was fined £20,000 and jointly ordered to pay £125,000 costs.

Janette Ward, Natural England’s regulation director, said: “We appreciate that shooting makes an important contribution to the economy and landscape of rural areas and we are keen to work with sporting estates to support their efforts.

“In this case, however, the sheer number of pheasants released was unsustainable and so damaging that a prosecution had to be brought. We hope the company will now work with us to manage this special woodland appropriately in the future”.

Tim Russell, director of conservation at the British Association for Shooting and Conservation, said: “BASC condemns the actions on this shoot which have led to the damage of a SSSI.

“All shoots have a responsibility to understand the importance of protected sites and to work with conservation agencies to ensure shooting is compatible with such sites. People need to be aware of the rules and they need to make sure they abide by them.”

Farndale was designated an SSSI in 1987 for a diverse mix of semi-natural habitats. The areas in which the offences were committed contain broadleaved woodland, such as oak, ash and alder, adjacent to the River Dove.

The woodland ground flora, which includes wild daffodils, was extensively damaged over an area of 20ha (50 acres) by pheasants. This involved pheasants scratching and pecking the plants. Although bridges and feeders have been removed from the site, pheasants remain and Natural England said the SSSI shows little sign of recovery.

The route of the 309km (192-mile) Coast to Coast Walk, devised by the late author Alfred Wainwright, runs around the head of Farndale on the section leading to Blakey Ridge.

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