BASC is launching a new legal fighting fund. The account will hold ring-fenced reserves of £1 million+ that will enable the association to push forward with what it calls ‘proactive legal initiatives’ to help secure the future of shooting. In addition, it will enable BASC to launch defences to disruptive legal challenges that could, says BASC, ‘negatively impact our community’.
In this video, BASC’s deputy director of communications Garry Doolan explains why:
BASC’s approach is similar to the Wild Justice approach to banning shooting, which it does with a series of crowdfunding appeals that pay for lawyers to mount legal challenges against wildlife management and shooting sports. Since the end of June 2020, Wild Justice has raised £38,000 to pay for a challenge to the badger cull via the CrowdJustice.com website.
BASC chairman Eoghan Cameron says: “The fund, the first of its kind, will set BASC on a new path to promoting and protecting shooting, our community and the countryside. This fund will allow us to further our aims and lead from the front when presented with opportunities and when facing down legal challenges. We are already fighting legal cases in England and Wales and there are other potential cases in the wings. For shooting to be heard and represented effectively in court, it must have an ability to fund legal action. Thanks to the generosity of our members and sound financial management, BASC has the means to do so.”
