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 
And these are the ones we know about, shooting estates are above the law, don’t you know
It is an ominous signal that Wiltshire Council dropped enforcement action in relation to illegal conversion of an 18th century building. It would seem likely that this was a listed building. This council isn’t known for being keen to act when the rich and powerful break the law. My guess is that they won’t take any action over the breaches of bird flu laws either. All credit to Dale Vince who is trying to improve the environment and all that goes with it.
Well done to the Green Britain Foundation for gathering evidence that (IMO) highlights the fact that most shoots don’t give a monkeys for the rules. But (as with RSPB Investigations & raptor persecution, etc) they shouldn’t really be needed. NE should be monitoring their own biosecurity regulations and slapping offenders with serious fines that recoup some of their admin costs and deter others.
A “verbal warning”, what is the point? Most farmed-game shoots are simply businesses out to make money – carefully managed by people who know what they are doing and IMO actively choose whether to obey or to ignore regulations when they are a complicating factor to the business model, or a compromise on income.
What can you say? Wiltshire is a basket case. When the Tories were finally dethroned on the council and the Lib-Dems took over one had hoped that there would be a change of attitude but, no. We still have the same PCC who is a keen supporter of fox hunting (have a look at the Wiltshire Hunt Saboteurs sub-stack to see how bad it is) and whilst there is a keen focus on rural crime when it comes to property theft, the inaction over crimes carried out by the landowners and their contractors against wildlife is shameful.
I live in a village called Purton in north Wiltshire. It took two years for the police to respond to video and photographic evidence of illegal hedge cutting during the bird breeding season – and then they only sent out a PCSO to talk to me and I had to instruct him on what the law is! Fortunately they finally took action and there has been no repeat for a couple of years.
Thanks for taking action about hedges anyway.