Pheasant shoots on Natural Resources Wales land to end

Animal Aid says 50 million pheasants and partridges are purpose-bred for shooting each year

Pheasant shoots on public land managed by Natural Resources Wales (NRW) are set to end.

NRW currently leases out four areas of woodland for shoots across Mid Wales, generating around £6,000 a year.

But following a review of the practice, the organisation voted to stop doing so when the current set of leases expire in February.

An animal rights organisation praised the decision, but the UK's largest shooting organisation was "astounded".

NRW's acting chair Dr Madeleine Havard said the subject had provoked a huge public response.

But she said the Welsh Government, which owns the land, had "given a clear steer" on the direction it wanted NRW to take.

In July, a letter was sent to NRW by the Environment Minister who said the Welsh Government was against the practice.

• Review opens into shoots on public land

• Row over public land shooting rights

Animal Aid collected over 12,700 signatures in a petition which called on NRW to ban shooting on its land.

Its campaign manager Fiona Pereira said the group was "delighted that the Welsh Government has stepped in to ensure that animal cruelty has no place on public land".

"Our campaign has proven that the vast majority of people abhor the killing of animals for 'sport' and want no part of it," she added.

However, the British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC) said the decision "strikes at the very credibility of NRW".

Its spokesman Garry Doolan said: "BASC is astounded that the position of Natural Resources Wales, an evidence-based organisation, can be changed by the radical petitioning of extremist groups."

He added the decision would have "serious implications for jobs and the environment" in Wales.

"Shooting is worth £75m annually to the Welsh economy," Mr Doolan said, adding it supports the equivalent of 2,400 full-time jobs in the country.