An investigation has been launched into alleged breaches of mandatory bird flu biosecurity regulations at Guy Ritchie’s Pheasant and Partridge shoot at Ashcombe Estate in Wiltshire, according to an article in The Times today.
Undercover investigators from Dale Vince’s Green Britain Foundation reportedly installed covert cameras on the estate in November 2025 and claim to have recorded multiple breaches of the mandatory biosecurity measures introduced last year to prevent the spread of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza.
The investigators say they have footage of grain feeders being emptied on to the ground and of food being emptied directly on to open ground, instead of being covered to reduce access to wild birds.
Investigators also claim the footage showed no visible daily inspection or cleaning of feeding areas, which are all mandatory requirements.
County Council Trading Standards Departments are responsible for enforcement of the mandatory Avian Influenza biosecurity regulations and Wiltshire County Council has opened an investigation in to the alleged offences at Ashcombe Estate.
If the Council’s Trading Standards Department is satisfied that the breaches did occur, and the estate’s management accepts that it committed the offences, then it’s likely the estate would only be given a verbal warning.
Similar breaches of the mandatory biosecurity regulations were confirmed at a gamebird shoot at Ramsholt, Suffolk last year (next to the Deben Estuary SPA, so arguably a much more sensitive site than the Ashcombe Estate) but even so, only a formal verbal warning was issued and this, we were told, is standard practice for first time offenders, even though breaching the regulations is a criminal offence.
Raptor Persecution UK 