Further info from Blenheim

Game Fair Panels will Tackle the Difficult Questions of the Day
The care of the countryside, its landscape and environment and changing public attitudes towards animals and food production will be among the key topics to be explored during a series of high-powered debates at The CLA Game Fair when it opens at Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire, next week (July 25 -27)

Issues which are critical to the economic, environmental and social structure of rural Britain and questions about policy, politics and practical management will be thrown at teams of speakers which include MPs, celebrities, academics and authors during debates and discussions in The Game Fair Theatre.

The question of who owns the land and who should reasonably enjoy rights over it will kick off the Strutt and Parker -sponsored Game Fair Theatre programme at 10.15 on Friday July 25 when the CLA National President, Henry Aubrey-Fletcher, will ask a panel which includes Conservative, Labour and Liberal MPs as well as open spaces society chairman, Kate Ashbrook: “Whose Land Is It Anyway?”

On Saturday MPs from across the political divide will discuss what policies will be required to take the countryside forward under the chairmanship of former Daily Telegraph and London Evening Standard editor Max Hastings.

Shooting, poaching and rural crime, food security and farming, the influence of animal activists, conservation and the complex issue of predator control – how one species is given priority over another – all feature in a programme of seminars which will be occupying the centre of the political stage. The aim, says Game Fair Director, David Hough, is to ensure that The CLA Game Fair provides the platform for serious debate on the issues which will shape the future management of the countryside and the rural economy.

In addition The Game Fair theatre will provide the venue for the launch of a new CLA Charitable Trust Scholarship, a TV Channel educational trust, a fashion show and even a singles evening with a Game Fair version of Blind Date. All that plus the presentation of The Farmers Weekly/CLA Game Fair Gamekeeper of The Year Award and the  launch of a revamped Code of Shooting Practice.

On Sunday the Theatre will host the Wake Up To Woodstock campaign where the town which has been such a successful host to The Game Fair will display its attractions to Game Fair visitors offering a glimpse of the places to stay, eat and shop in Woo