Innholdsfortegnelse for 2-Mar-2016 i Shooting Times & Country

IN THIS WEEK’S issue, Ian Danby explains how BASC’s shoot mapping tool is increasingly getting the attention of conservation groups, as it shows how much wildlife benefits from game management (p.27). Our little roughshooting syndicate is keen to use the Green Shoots programme and, if all goes to plan, we will soon have it up and running. It will be nice to get a sense of the shoot boundary and the amount of land over which we have permission, shooting rights or ownership. It will be particularly useful because our shooting is divided into pockets, some of which we don’t know as well. One member of the shoot, an ecologist, is keen to introduce a competitive element: who can spot and note down the most interesting species when out shooting…

Website offers new rural voice A new online forum, called Vox Ruris, has been launched with the aim of giving those who “live, work or play” in the countryside a greater voice. It was set up to combat the perception that everyone in the countryside is the same, and to give members the chance to express their views by taking online surveys and contributing to discussions. Membership of the community is free, visit www.voxruris.com to register. RSPB buys nature reserve RSPB Scotland has bought the nature reserve at Dunnet Head, after receiving a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund. The 40-acre site on the Caithness headland is the northernmost point of mainland Britain and is home to thousands of breeding seabirds, including puffins, fulmars, guillemots and kittiwakes. Jersey may drop…

Who are you and what do you do? I am a former director of the League Against Cruel Sports and have been involved in animal welfare, particularly the hunting issue, since the early 1970s. I am now an animal welfare consultant to the Countryside Alliance and the All-Party Parliamentary Middle Way Group. I also work with the Veterinary Association for Wildlife Management. What does a typical week involve for you? One day it might be giving a talk to a college or Young Farmers’ Club and another discussing wildlife issues with politicians. Working with a range of knowledgeable people makes the job so much easier. What would you say is the greatest issue in shooting and conservation at the moment? The use of lead shot appears to be the most…

The law in relation to compulsory microchipping was ill-conceived and poorly framed (News, 24 February). It is not fit for purpose and is impossible to police; this is admitted in the Government’s own research paper. People often say: “It’s obvious, if your dog is lost or stolen and is microchipped it will be returned to you saving all that heartache.” What is obvious is that this is not reflected in real life. As a breeder of working dogs, I have my dogs microchipped (as their tails are docked) and DNA profiled, but I believe that for other dogs the individual should have the choice to chip or not. The Kennel Club states on its website that the microchip is permanent: this is not true — it can easily be removed.…

1 SNOW:It’s pointless shooting when there is a covering of snow. The birds’ priority will be conserving energy in such cold conditions. They become snow-blind and visually cannot navigate over a sea of white, so that even if they are to feed, flightlines could be erratic. Trying to decoy in snow does not work as birds are unable to make out their feeding “friends”. When there is a light dusting of snow, it is possible to shoot over taller crops such as Brussels sprouts and tall kale by using decoys. I have also had some great roosting evenings when there is a covering of snow. Fir woods are the best place to roost in snow and, due to the white background, arriving birds find it nearly impossible to see the…

There’s little doubt that the growth of demand for so-called designer dogs is depressing the demand for pedigrees. What upsets the pedigree-dog enthusiasts the most isn’t the fact that cockers are crossed with poodles, but the fact that their breeders charge so much for the puppies. Whereas £500 will buy you a nice cocker puppy, a cockerpoo will set you back considerably more. It is, of course, a classic case of supply and demand. If nobody is prepared to pay more than £500 for your pure-bred cockers with a six-generation pedigree there’s no point in trying to charge more. However, if you can sell all your cockerpoo puppies at £750 it has to be a more attractive proposition, at least for those who simply breed for financial gain. As the…

If a dog is said to have a saddle, it is not a literal reference: it means the dog’s coat has a darker coloured area extending over its back. This is slightly different to blanket marking, which refers to large areas of colour over the back and sides of the body. The term “blanket” is generally only used to describe markings in sight and scent hounds. Belton is a coat pattern specific to the English setter, comprising a mix of white and coloured hairs, which gives it a mottled appearance. Harlequin is another coat pattern, which comprises irregular-sized patches of black and white. But the term is only used when this pattern is seen in the Great Dane. A dog’s coat can also be mottled, speckled or ticked. Mottling refers…

“Seeking to blame firearms owners to cover up failures is an evasion of Ms Barnes’ responsibilities” Police firearms licensing departments have faced renewed criticism, five months after the Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary report was released. Kent Police, in particular, has come under severe criticism from BASC, which said that Police and Crime Commissioner Ann Barnes did not understand the role the police play in firearms licensing and was providing an inefficient service. Ms Barnes said that Kent Police was operating at a £300,000 deficit due to the cost of firearms licensing. Gary Ashton, BASC’s director of firearms operations, said: “As the Police and Crime Commissioner, Ms Barnes is charged with securing the maintenance of an efficient and effective police force for Kent. Inefficiency in firearms licensing, worse than the…

IN THE GARDEN It’s time to put up a nest box ahead of the breeding season, but if you plan to help out the birds, then the RSPB warns that simpler is better. Boxes with novelty shapes or bright colours might look attractive, but the RSPB says they can be poorly insulated, leading to overheating, or are too conspicuous to keep baby birds hidden from predators. Instead, a traditional, wooden nest box is recommended. START SAVING A pair of 32in 12-bore top-lever hammer ejector shotguns, with royal provenance, used for live pigeon trap shooting, are going up for sale in the Holt’s London auction on 17 March. Made by James Purdey & Sons in 1922, the guns are estimated to sell for between £25,000 and £35,000, and experts believe that…

BBC Countryfile Magazine has voted the hen harrier as its “Wildlife Success Story of the Year” following the increase from three breeding pairs in England to six. As we reported last year, four of these attempts were made on or near moorland that is managed for grouse shooting (News, 30 September). Team GB star Amber Hill (pictured) took first place at the Qatar Open Shotgun championship in Doha last week, winning a prize of US$6,000 (£4,250). The Bedlington terrier has been added to the Kennel Club’s “At Watch” list for the first time, after the number of registered puppies dropped to just 395 last year. Twenty-five jobs were lost at Shetland’s biggest salmon producer last week. The Norwegian-owned Grieg Seafood, which employs 175 people on the island, said that its…

LIKE THE CROFTER LAND CLEARANCES I have been following the media coverage regarding the cull of deer carried out by the John Muir Trust where the carcases were left on the hill to rot (News, 20 January). The most worrying thing about this and what a lot of these trusts are doing, either directly or indirectly, is that it is akin to the land clearances of 200 years ago. The John Muir Trust states that one of its objectives is support for the local communities. For a rural community to survive there must be work for young people to take on to keep them in the area. Normally, the only full-time work in these areas is related to farming, forestry or on sporting estates. The work helps young families set…

“Much to the dismay of the antis, hunting within the law has not only continued but has thrived ” A mixed bag of topics this week. As more than one reader may know, I edited Shooting Timesfor a good many years in the 1970s and 1980s, thence to retire to become a freelance journalist but with a close and loyal affection for my old magazine. Since I departed the editorial seat, I have seen and worked with eight or nine different editors and, as you might expect, have seen the magazine change, mostly for the best. How times have changed. In my time, photos in the magazine were invariably black and white and it was only in my latter days that coloured front covers began to appear, and pretty primitive…

“The upside of last year’s late lay was the odd brood of ‘wild’ poults. I’m sure a few of them reached maturity and made it into the bag” The hen pheasants have been moved across to the laying pen. They are already on the pellets and, with a bit of luck, we should be picking our first eggs in another three to four weeks. Last year, we had a cold late spring and, though the hens came into lay on time, the laying itself was held back by the weather. Egg quality was good and the hatchability was better than it had been for a few years — probably because the hens were laying fewer eggs — but they didn’t reach a decent peak mid-lay. Instead, they laid at a…

“What a magnificent sight a cock pheasant is, especially on a dull day in January — a sight of burnished and glowing beauty” I often think that hitting things does not make up the chief pleasure of a shooting day. It is important; hitting things lies, after all, at the heart of our sport and it would be callous to shoot at pheasants without caring whether they fall or fly on. In a sense, hitting things is what it is all about but I often find, at the end of a day’s shooting, that what sticks in the memory is not primarily those things I hit. I may, of course, remember with satisfaction the high, curling pheasant that I shot from the sky on the last drive, something that does…

This recipe is from the Countryside Alliance’s Game-to-Eat campaign, which is dedicated to promoting wild British game meat. It also champions the produce of the UK’s shoots, gamedealers, butchers and farm shops. To find out more, please visit www.gametoeat.co.uk. Serving woodpigeon with wild cherries and gingerbread may not be something you’d ever think of doing, but this unusual combination works together very well. Wild cherries aren’t yet in season, but it won’t be long — and it pays to have some advance warning because you may have to get to them before the birds do! In the meantime, you could use shop-bought cherries instead. This recipe calls for softly crumbled gingerbread, which you can buy ready-made, but you could make your own. WOODPIGEON, WILD CHERRIES AND GINGERBREAD Ingredients 200G WILD…

Only practice will improve your flycasting skills FISHING Q I am keen to improve my flycasting for the impending trout season. Can you offer any quick advice? A Pages and pages have been written on this subject but, in short, you must practise and practise — on the lawn, in a field, anywhere. To get used to a bulked-up fly rod normally used for tarpon, I took to the outfield of our local cricket pitch. Put out an attainable marker — a tea towel will do — and concentrate on a cast that you can replicate without thought and develop a feel for what the line is doing in the air. A common mistake is to cast too fast and try to keep the rod and line moving in the…

The dunnock might seem like the archetypal dull, brown bird, but there is far more to the species than meets the eye. Male dunnocks have started singing already and, though not as fluting and loud as a robin, they make a tuneful contribution to the dawn chorus. It’s important to make a noise if you’re a male dunnock, in order to establish your position in society. Instead of the firm pair-bond and territory of the robin or blackbird, there are complicated relationships unfolding in your garden or hedgerow. Some territories contain one female and one male, but polyandry — more than one male in a…

12 MARCH BASC 2016 WILDFOWLING CONFERENCE Ramada Hotel, Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham, West Midlands Tel 01244 573007 12 MARCH NGO/BDS LARDER AND BUTCHERY DEMONSTRATION DAY Rhug Estate, Corwen, Denbighshire Tel 01833 660869 14 MARCH GWCT RODENTICIDE TRAINING DAY The Allerton Project, Loddington, Leicestershire Tel 01244 573007 19 -20 MARCH THE WEST OF ENGLAND GAME FAIR 2016 The Showground, Shepton Mallet, Somerset Tel 01392 421500 4 APRIL RIVER COTTAGE GARDEN OPEN DAY River Cottage HQ, Axminster, Devon Tel 01297 630300 13 APRIL GAVIN GARDINER MODERN AND VINTAGE SPORTING GUN AUCTION Sotheby’s, London Tel 01798 875300…

Leading shooting industry representatives have challenged claims by Scottish environment minister Dr Aileen McLeod that shooting estates are paying beaters below the minimum wage. They also pointed out that the question is largely immaterial, as many beaters don’t request payment. Last month, Dr McLeod wrote to the Rural Affairs, Climate Change and Environment Committee suggesting that the average hourly wage for “seasonal workers” on shooting estates could be as low as £5.70, which falls below the National Minimum Wage of £6.70. After the letter was used to criticise grouse moors by some media outlets, BASC Scotland director Colin Shedden, Scottish Moorland Group director Tim Baynes and Scottish Gamekeepers’ Association chairman Alex Hogg penned a joint letter, to “correct a number of inaccuracies”. They noted that due to the recreational and…

Now that the season has finished and shoots are starting to plan for the next, may I ask your readers to consider having one or more apiaries on their land? Bees are in trouble and many large landowners are reluctant to install an apiary. Beekeepers are always looking for apiary sites, and as long as the keeper is a member of the British Beekeeping Association and is registered with DEFRA at Beebase, there is nothing to worry about. The bees pay for themselves by pollinating fruit and crops. The honey is a bonus. C. Gibbons, by email IN ASSOCIATION WITH FUR FEATHER & FIN: FOR ALL YOUR SHOOTING TIMES The winner of this week’s Letter of the Week will receive an Anti-Corrosive Gun Sleeve, exclusively available from Fur Feather &…

Successful pigeon shooting — whether decoying, roosting or flighting — is reliant on shooting in the optimal weather conditions. Given this, you should always study various weather forecasts before you head out on any reconnaissance trips. To make the most of your outings, you should of course plan to shoot when conditions are favourable. But if, after your recon trips, conditions change on the day you actually shoot, you must take this into consideration. It could alter the behaviour of the birds, how they enter a field and where they choose to feed. THE WIND-KILL FACTOR Wind Wind is the most important condition to consider, because it determines the behaviour of birds on the wing, the amount of activity and the duration of your shoot. Wind will dictate the way…

HAS THE PEDIGREE dog had its day? While it might be much too early to predict its eventual extinction, figures from the Kennel Club (KC) show compelling evidence of its decline. In 2006, a total of 103,773 gundogs were registered with the Club in the UK. Numbers held steady for the next couple of years, but then the decline started. In 2011 numbers dropped below the 100,000 mark for the first time, and have continued to fall every year since. Last year 83,918 gundogs were registered: you don’t have to be a maths genius to work out that’s almost a 20 per cent decline in 10 years. Quite why registrations are falling is another matter. A drop can be expected during times of recession, but you would have thought that,…

BILL HARRIMAN BASC’s head of firearms and global authority on guns MAT MANNING Airgunner and journalist from the West Country BRUCE POTTS Shooting Timesrifle reviewer and stalker DAVID TOMLINSON Highly regarded writer and ornithologist LIAM BELL Shropshire gamekeeper and keen wildfowler GRAHAM DOWNING Shooting consultant and sporting author PAUL RAWLINGS Gundog expert and A-panel spaniel judge CHRIS DE CANI Riverkeeper, with specialist knowledge of chalkstreams TONY BUCKWELL Veterinary surgeon with a special interest in gundogs TONY JACKSON A game Shot, keen stalker and former editor of Shooting Times TOM PAYNE Professional shooting instructor and avid pigeon shooter SIMON WHITEHEAD Author, professional ferreter and rabbit controller IAIN WATSON Keen stalker and senior CIC international trophy judge Contact the team Email: stanswers@timeinc.com By post: Shooting Times, Blue Fin Building,…

How often have you heard the expression “the camera never lies”? Most of us tend to believe what we see with our own eyes, and the camera lens is often regarded as a sort of surrogate eye, present at events on our behalf. But who actually takes the picture, processes and edits it, and writes the explanatory caption? I remember a piece of propaganda issued by an anti-shooting group about gameshooting. The antis wanted to portray pheasants as being reared and kept in battery-hen conditions. They produced a photo of a close-packed mass of pheasant chicks supposedly crammed into a tiny indoor space. This emotive picture was garnished with a suitably outraged caption. No doubt the target audience — the well-meaning townie public — was horrified. Yet all was not…