Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Letter
  • Published:

Field sports and conservation in the United Kingdom

Nature volume 423, pages 531–533 (2003)Cite this article

Abstract

Many natural habitats exist on privately owned land outside protected areas1, but few governments can afford to enforce or subsidize conservation of this biodiversity. Even in some developed countries, conservation subsidy schemes have only achieved limited success2,3,4. Fortunately, some landowners may be willing to accept management costs in return for other benefits5, although this remains controversial when it involves the killing of charismatic species. For example, participants in British field sports, such as fox hunting and game-bird shooting, may voluntarily conserve important habitats that are required by quarry species6,7,8. Here we report results from a multidisciplinary study that addressed this issue by focusing on three sites across central England. We found that landowners participating in field sports maintained the most established woodland and planted more new woodland and hedgerows than those who did not, despite the equal availability of subsidies. Therefore, voluntary habitat management appears to be important for biodiversity conservation in Britain. Current debates on the future of field sports in Britain, and similar activities globally, may benefit from considering their utility as incentives to conserve additional habitat on private land.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on SpringerLink
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1: Influence of participation in field sports on the proportion of each farm covered with woodland.
Figure 2
Figure 3
Figure 4: Influence of study site and membership of an advisory group on number of woody plant species in hedgerows.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Langholz, J. A. & Lassoie, J. P. Perils and promise of privately owned protected areas. BioScience 51, 1079–1085 (2001)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Ovenden, G. N., Swash, A. R. H. & Smallshire, D. Agri-environment schemes and their contribution to the conservation of biodiversity in England. J. Appl. Ecol. 35, 955–960 (1998)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Krebs, J. R., Wilson, J. R., Bradbury, R. B. & Siriwardena, G. M. The second silent spring? Nature 400, 611–612 (1999)

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Kleijn, D., Berendse, F., Smit, R. & Gilissen, N. Agri-environment schemes do not effectively protect biodiversity in Dutch agricultural landscapes. Nature 413, 723–725 (2001)

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Goodman, P. S., James, B. & Carlisle, L. in Mainstreaming Biodiversity in Development. Case Studies from South Africa (eds Pierce, S. M., Cowling, R. M., Sandwith, T. & Mackinnon, K.) 21–32 (World Bank Environment Department, Washington DC, 2002)

    Google Scholar 

  6. Macdonald, D. W. Running with the Fox (Oxford Univ. Press, Oxford, 1987)

    Google Scholar 

  7. Macdonald, D. W. & Johnson, P. J. Farmers and the custody of the countryside: Trends in loss and conservation of non-productive habitats 1981–1998. Biol. Conserv. 94, 221–234 (2000)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Tapper, S. (ed.) A Question of Balance; Game Animals and their Role in the British Countryside (Game Conservancy Trust, Fordingbridge, UK, 1999)

  9. Leader-Williams, N., Harrison, J. & Green, M. J. B. Designing protected areas to conserve natural resources. Sci. Prog. Oxford 74, 189–204 (1990)

    Google Scholar 

  10. Robinson, R. A. & Sutherland, W. J. Post-war changes in arable farming and biodiversity in Great Britain. J. Appl. Ecol. 39, 157–176 (2002)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. UK Government Achieving a Better Quality of Life—Government Annual Report 2001 (DEFRA, London, 2001).

  12. The Town and Country Planning (Trees) Regulations 1999 Statutory Instrument 1999 No. 1892 (Controller of HMSO, London).

  13. The Hedgerows Regulations 1997 Statutory Instrument 1997 No. 1162 (Controller of HMSO, London).

  14. O'Connell, M. O. & Yallop, M. Research needs in relation to the conservation of biodiversity in the UK. Biol. Conserv. 103, 115–123 (2002)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. DEFRA (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) 〈http://www.defra.gov.uk/erdp/schemes/default.htm〉 (posted 10 December 2002, modified 16th April 2003).

  16. English Nature Annual Report April 1 2001–31 March 2002 (English Nature, Peterborough, UK, 2002)

    Google Scholar 

  17. Lovelace, D., May, R. & Perkins, R. Money Makes the Countryside Go Round (WWF, Godalming, UK, 2000)

    Google Scholar 

  18. Sutherland, W. J. Restoring a sustainable countryside. Trends Ecol. Evol. 17, 148–150 (2002)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Beedell, J. D. C. & Rehman, T. Explaining farmers' conservation behaviour: Why do farmers behave the way they do? J. Environ. Mgmt 57, 165–176 (1999)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Bennett, A. F. Linkages in the Landscape: The Role of Corridors in Wildlife Conservation (IUCN, Gland, Switzerland, 1999)

    Google Scholar 

  21. Thomas, R. C., Kirby, K. J. & Reid, C. M. The conservation of a fragmented ecosystem within a cultural landscape—the case of ancient woodland in England. Biol. Conserv. 82, 243–252 (1997)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Barr, C. J. et al. Countryside Survey 1990 Main Report (Department of Environment, London, 1993)

    Google Scholar 

  23. Robertson, P. A., Woodburn, M. I. A. & Hill, D. A. The effects of woodland management on the abundance of butterflies in Dorset, England. Biol. Conserv. 45, 159–167 (1988)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Stoate, C. Multifunctional use of a natural resource on farmland: Wild pheasant (Phasianus colchicus) management and the conservation of farmland passerines. Biodivers. Conserv. 11, 561–573 (2002)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. Garbutt, R. A. & Sparks, T. H. Changes in the botanical diversity of a species rich ancient hedgerow between two surveys (1971–1998). Biol. Conserv. 106, 273–278 (2002)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. Glowka, L., Burhenne-Guilman, F. & Synge, H. A Guide to the Convention on Biological Diversity (IUCN, Gland, Switzerland, 1994)

    Google Scholar 

  27. Leader-Williams, N., Oldfield, T. E. E., Smith, R. J. & Walpole, M. J. Science, conservation and fox-hunting. Nature 419, 878 (2002)

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  28. Burns, L., Edwards, V., Marsh, J., Soulsby, L. & Winter, M. Report of the Committee of Inquiry into Hunting with Dogs in England and Wales (Stationery Office, London, 2000)

    Google Scholar 

  29. Baker, P. J., Harris, S. & Webbon, C. C. Effect of British hunting ban on fox numbers. Nature 419, 34 (2002)

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  30. The Hunting Bill 2002 〈http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200203/cmbills/010/03010.i-v.html〉 (13 December 2002).

Download references

Acknowledgements

We thank farmers in the Suffolk, Warwickshire and Berkeley hunt countries for their co-operation, and M. J. Walpole and M. S. Ridout for advice. This work was supported by CHK Charities.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology, University of Kent, Kent, CT2 7NS, Canterbury, UK

    T. E. E. Oldfield, R. J. Smith, S. R. Harrop & N. Leader-Williams

Authors
  1. T. E. E. Oldfield
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. R. J. Smith
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. S. R. Harrop
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. N. Leader-Williams
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to N. Leader-Williams.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare that they have no competing financial interests.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Oldfield, T., Smith, R., Harrop, S. et al. Field sports and conservation in the United Kingdom. Nature 423, 531–533 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature01678

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nature01678

This article is cited by

Comments

By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing