“I sat down some years ago and thought about the number of people that are involved with shooting, especially now, that have very little understanding of what goes into it and what comes out of it at the other end,” says John, who started shooting when growing up on his family’s farm in Devon, competed for 20 years and was then head coach of England’s Commonwealth Games team for eight years and has been involved in game shooting and deer management professionally for over 50 years.
It’s because they might not make any money out of it but they absolutely love what they do. John points to the work of artist, ecologist and conservationist Justin Prigmore who is one of those who appear in the book. “Justin is fundamentally a professional ecologist and professional artist who worked for Cairngorms National Park and spent a lot of time studying and observing conservation through game in the Cairngorms.