AN ASSOCIATION for shooting has responded to the decision by Natural Resources Wales (NRW) to ban pheasant shooting.

NRW announced last week that it would not be renewing leases for pheasant shooting rights on public land under its ownership as of March 2019, following calls by the Welsh Government and animal rights activists for a ban for ethical reasons.

The environmental management agency said that it would still consider applications for permission to carry out the controlled shooting of wild species.

However, the decision has been met with anger by the British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC), who has released a new video to highlight the sport's value in Wales as part of a call to challenge NRW.

Tom O’Carroll, BASC’s video producer, said: “The video gets across the real conservation value of shooting in Wales. As we say at the end of the film, Wales is not Wales without shooting.

“It is important that those who don’t have an affinity with shooting understand exactly what shooting does to maintain and enhance the beautiful Welsh countryside we all know and love.

“We hope that the shooting community throughout the UK will share the video on their feeds to help spread the message of the value of shooting.

"The ban is not just an issue for small pockets of Wales, it should be a wake-up call for shooting throughout the UK.”