The Field January 2020

OSCAR WILDE famously wrote that “each man kills the thing he loves”. Newspapers have claimed the RSPB is about to do the same. No organisation has done more to raise awareness of wildlife declines but it is at risk of thwarting its aim of saving our wild bird populations by alienating one of the largest motivators for conservation: game shooting. Those listening to Kevin Cox, RSPB chairman, announce its review of shooting were left with the impression that it is preparing to oppose it. How likely is this? It appears unlikely it would oppose game shooting on ecological grounds. Only four years ago, the RSPB stated that lowland game shooting could “provide beneficial habitat management for wildlife”, including woodland sky-lighting, planting cover crops and creating conservation headlands. The Game &…

TAKE a closer look at Jonathan Pointer’s dramatic capercaillie on its lek and you may spot a red squirrel in the background. For Pointer, such details are important. He wants to tell the whole story in his work: “It is a subtle narrative – but fundamental. I won’t just do a straight portrait that doesn’t say anything about the animal’s habitat. Doing the background gives the whole story. “A lot of my paintings mention the season in them, and that’s deliberate. I want to get the viewer to examine the whole scene. With Summer Partridges you have the golden shades of the ripening crop, and you also have some of the key weeds – those traditional weeds that are being lost with modern agriculture, causing partridge decline. And you have…

Club awarded for banishing balsam A small fishing club in North Yorkshire that has transformed management of the River Leven – including halting the spread of invasive Himalayan balsam – has won the Wild Trout Trust’s (WTT) Outstanding Contribution to Wild Trout Conservation Award. Hutton Rudby Fly Fishing Club worked with the Environment Agency (EA), Tees Rivers Trust and the WTT to transform the river through its Leven Wild Fishery Project, easing barriers and improving habitat. After hearing about a scheme to spray rust on Himalayan balsam, club member Scott Hansford persuaded CABI – an organisation that addresses agricultural and environmental issues worldwide – to fund a trial on its stretch of the Leven. The EA estimates that Himalayan balsam occupies 13% of riverbanks in England and Wales. Plants can…

NEW MASTER FOR GUNMAKERS Roddy Richmond-Watson, 55, was installed as the new Master of the Worshipful Company of Gunmakers at its annual Nomination Dinner at Mansion House on 5 November. A keen shot, he is the third generation or his family to run the West London Shooting School. He says he is looking forward to steering the Company through a time of change and is “especially looking forward to harnessing the energy of our younger Liverymen, who are the future of the Company”. PHEASANTS FEED HOMELESS The Country Food Trust has produced 400,000 meals for people in food poverty since 2015. Responding to rising demand, 2kg catering-sized pouches are now available. In autumn 2019, more than five tonnes of frozen pheasant breasts were delivered to charities and the winter appeal…

3-5 Cotswolds Decorative, Antiques & Art Fair Westonbirt School, Tetbury, Gloucestershire. Tel01278 784912; cooperevents.com Until 5 Lines of Sight: WG Sebald’s East Anglia Norwich Castle Museum & Art Gallery, Norfolk. Archive materials and unseen photographs. Tel01603 493625; museums.norfolk.gov.uk/ norwich-castle Until 5 Exhibition: Destination Moon National Maritime Museum, London SE10. Paintings by Turner and Constable as well as space photography and Apollo mission artefacts. Tel020 8312 6565; rmg.co.uk 5 Larkhill Racing Club Point-to-Point Larkhill, Wiltshire. Tel07789544498; pointtopoint.co.uk 7-9 The Oxford Farming Conference The Examination Rooms, Oxford. Theme for 2020 is ‘Growing a healthy society’. Tel0845 652 0945; ofc.org.uk 10 BASC Cornwall Lady Guns Novice Tuition Callington, Cornwall (10.30am-1pm). Cost £49. Tel01244 573000; basc.org.uk/events 10-12 LondonCats Cat Extravaganza Sandown Park Racecourse, Surrey. londoncats.org.uk/surrey 11 West Percy Point-to-Point Alnwick,…

MOST VIEWED Shoot room art In the October issue we profiled sporting artist Jack Fetherstonhaugh. Janet Menzies discovered how he uses unique techniques for commissioned pet portraits and his new fishing paintings, but it was the Movement in Birds series that proved particularly popular with Fielders. “Lovely images. Our shoot room is adorned with them as table place settings and some prints on the walls,” shared one reader. Visit our website for more on Jack Fetherstonhaugh and our other favourite sporting artists. #THEFIELDMAGAZINE Bentley Belle We introduced the extraordinary Bentley Belles in the November issue and met the modern-day iteration. Katarina Kyvalova put together the first all-female team to compete in a Bentley at a 24-hour event and drove a 1929 Birkin Blower at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. “If…