The BBC 'does' the CLA Game Fair

Muffin & Mina, the Fieldsports Channel cockers, as Tweeted by BBC Countryfile

Imagine a tweed-coated, gumbooted farmer in a flashy London nightclub. Well, it's been a bit like that with the BBC's visits to the CLA Game Fair in 2015.

BBC1's primetime Countryfile led on on it this week. Click here for the show. BBC Radio 4 broadcast its flagship news programme Today from the show. Jim Naughtie's spaniel recently died, aged 16. He got quite misty-eyed at the sight of the Fieldsports Channel cockers in the front row of the Game Fair Theatre audience. And he made an excellent piece about the spirit of the Game Fair which you can no longer listen to because of the BBC's peculiar attitude to copyright.

There were some odd bits, of course. They still regard hunting and shooting as 'controversial' rather than 'normal', so it still gets a breathless, newsy of coverage. They are still surprised that shoots are where conservation takes place and the RSPB is all about money and fundraising. They seem to think it is the other way round. Also, lion hunting might not be overwhelmingly popular among British shooting folk but the #Cecil story was raging and the CLA Game Fair is the go-to place for those Brits who do want to book a lion hunt. No mention of that on the BBC. Maybe they don't know.

Give them time. What's important is that the CLA game fair gets more visitors than the Glastonbury Festival and now it is on its way to getting a tiny percentage of the airtime too. Well done the BBC!