What does BASC stand for?

The British Association for Shooting and Conservation.

How did BASC come about?

The organisation started out as the Wildfowlers' Association of Great Britain and Ireland, (WAGBI) in 1908. It was founded by Stanley Duncan, an engineer from Hull, who was also a highly experienced wildfowler and naturalist.

Why did Stanley Duncan form the Association?

There were three main reasons why he set up WAGBI.

1. He wanted to help professional wildfowlers;
2. He was becoming alarmed at the increasing drainage and subsequent 
   development of much excellent wildfowl habitat;
3. He realised that as time went by it would be necessary to defend the 
   sport of wildfowling against the growing enthusiasm of extremists bent 
   on total protection of wild birds.

When and why did WAGBI become BASC?

In 1981 WAGBI changed its name to the British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC). This change was agreed at the Annual General Meeting of that year in recognition of the fact that shooting sports required a single representative body and that WAGBI was the most suitable placed organisation to take on that role.

How many members does BASC have?

There are currently 127,000 members and that number is growing every year.

Where is BASC based?

The association’s national headquarters is based at Marford Mill in Rossett, North Wales. There are also five regional centres across England and three national centres in Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland.

How many staff work for BASC?

There are currently 103 people working for BASC across the country.

How is BASC run?

The organisation is run by a democratically elected council of members. The council is charged with overseeing the management of the affairs of a growing, multi million-pound turnover organisation, which has very public responsibilities. In practice, the Council, as a body, delegates day-to-day running of the Association to the chief executive. This does not, however, detract from the Council's overall responsibility.

How is the organisation structured?

The organisation’s patron is the Duke of Edinburgh. There is also a president, chairman, council and a chief executive.

The following departments are based at head office: firearms, gamekeeping and game shooting, media and communications, deer, research, conservation and land management, biodiversity, marketing, fundraising, wildfowling, membership and shooting standards and training. These are overseen by directors and heads of department.

The regional offices are headed up by directors who oversee regional officers and administrative staff.

What is BASC’s objective?

Our mission is to promote and protect sporting shooting and the well-being of the countryside throughout the United Kingdom and overseas.  We represent our members' interests by providing a voice for sporting shooting which includes wildfowling, game, and rough shooting, deer stalking, target shooting and air gunning, pigeon shooting and pest control, gun dogs, promoting practical habitat conservation, training and the setting of standards and undertaking appropriate research.

What are our key aims?

BASC is a national representative body for sporting shooting. We have five strategic objectives:

• A strong and unified voice for shooting
• All party backing for shooting
• Balanced comment in the media
• Continued opportunity to go shooting
• High standards