Innholdsfortegnelse for September 2, 2015 i Shooting Times & Country

I RETURNED FROM holiday last week to find a copy of Mark Avery’s new book Inglorious on my desk. I had been shooting on a moor where I had seen cherished birds of prey benefiting hugely from grouse management, yet here was a 300-page rant against grouse shooting by the former RSPB conservation director who wants it banned. The BBC’s Chris Packham supports it with a foreword in which he effectively accuses shooters of being psychotic, deliberately offending a huge section of the population who care passionately for nature. “Conservationists” must stop such attacks on shooters and farmers if they are serious about saving our struggling wildlife. Though they do much good work, UK wildlife charities’ handful of reserves are simply not enough to turn the tide of destruction. It…

Red squirrels are to be relocated in an effort to boost their numbers in Scotland, it was revealed last week. Charity groups Trees for Life and the Highland Foundation for Wildlife hope to collect squirrels from “healthy” populations in Moray and Inverness and move them to 10 as yet undecided locations. Alan Watson Featherstone, of Trees for Life, said: “This will help red squirrels return to the forests where they belong for the first time in decades”…

“I think there is more cruelty going on with dogs being kept in high-rise flats and not fed properly than with people who want to take part in a centuries-old sport.” TV presenter Anne Robinson gives the Radio Times her opinion on foxhunting. “To own a firearms licence is a privilege and one that comes with great responsibility.” Cumbria Constabulary Superintendent Mark Pannone comments on the case of 54-year-old Penrith man David Wardman, who last month received a 120-day suspended sentence for failing to store his firearms in a secure location.…

Royal Mail has launched a set of 10 stamps celebrating the UK’s bee population, with illustrated images depicting various bee species, including two declining bumblebees — the great yellow and bilberry. Dr Richard Comont of the Bumblebee Conservation Trust said: “It’s great to see Royal Mail showcasing some of our rarest and most spectacular bumblebees. “We hope these stamps will help draw attention to the very real threats faced by Britain’s declining bumblebees.”…

Shaggy shark story? Nick Fisher said we all love a good shark story ( On the Hook , 12 August), so here is ours. Having taken our two-year-old working cocker, Gil, on holiday from North Yorkshire to the Dorset coast, we were amazed with his water retrieve in the picture — not an 18in starry smooth hound, but a four-footer! A shark story, or a shaggy dog one? Izzi Murtagh, aged 11, Yorkshire A licence nightmare In February I was diagnosed with Burkitt’s lymphoma and started intensive chemotherapy. During this time my shotgun certificate came up for renewal. All the relevant forms were filled in and returned to Dumfries firearms department on 4 June. I received a phone call on 6 August from the local firearms officer wanting to come…

Many fowlers have probably taken a shot that, with hindsight, they regret as being slightly high, but blatant barrel stretching is out of order. It causes wounding or, even if it misses the geese completely, makes them lift higher when they pass over the same bit of foreshore on future occasions. Some marshes have steel silhouettes of “flying” pink-footed geese erected. The novice wildfowler should measure out the appropriate range of their gun and cartridge combination and see what the artificial bird looks like over the top of their (unloaded) mounted gun. Another option is to ask an experienced fowler to take you out for your first season; all good wildfowling clubs encourage this.…

The RSPB has done it again, which should not come as much of a surprise to any of us now, given its track record over the past few years. I don’t know why it simply doesn’t say that it would rather have shooting banned. However, that would remove its charitable status and, along with it, a large slice of income. I am referring, of course, to the old potato of the shot hen harrier ( News , 19 August). Shot, it would appear, in April of this year. The fact the RSPB did not liaise with as many of its partners as it should have done over the issue fades into insignificance given the rest of the debacle, though it begs the question why anyone bothers to work with, or…

Ferreting Hob benefits I am looking to buy a few kits to expand my team and like the idea of buying males (hobs). As a fan of working hobs, why do you rate them so highly? P. Hester, by email SIMON WHITEHEAD SAYS: The older (and hopefully wiser) I get, the more I fall in love with working hob ferrets. The differences for me are obvious. They are stronger, have a presence about them in the warren and a no-nonsense attitude to the most stubborn of rabbits. Though my jills know the score, the laws of physics are against them if we are ferreting large rabbits in large warrens. The stamina that the hob offers guarantees that when it starts to work, it works at a consistent pace rather than…

Phew, that’s August done with. There are many decades worth of angling records in the fishing hut that will confirm that August is the toughest month for tempting trout in this stretch of the Dever and this year has been no exception. Low water and wary fish require perfect presentation and anything too splashy or flashy will make fish dart away for sanctuary under weed or on the bottom of the river. Further down the river where there is a bit more water, fishing is usually not nearly so affected but up here in the headwaters it can be a frustrating business and one fish in August is worth four in May. A platoon of otters in residence for a few weeks has not eased the trout’s nerves. At this…

Gamekeepers and staff at the Invermark estate in Angus raced to save the life of a young kestrel they rescued. The young bird of prey, affectionately named “Harry” (pictured), was spotted by a beater in Glenesk as the teams assembled for a shoot day. The bird was clearly in distress. Harry was rushed to the local vet, after it was suspected the bird had been struggling to feed itself due to a prominent chest bone. Sadly, the bird could not be saved and died soon after.…

Marine mammals are thriving on the river Thames, according to a study by the Zoological Society of London (ZSL). ZSL has collated 2,732 animal sightings over a 10-year period. Seals were the most commonly seen animals, while there have also been reports of 444 porpoises and dolphins, and 49 whales. Joanna Barker, ZSL’s European conservation projects manager, told the BBC: “Many people looking into the Thames see a murky, dirty environment. “But, actually, beneath the waves, it is full of life. We have a huge range of fish and invertebrates, and some top predators.”…

GOOD TIMES Forester Matt Sharp ( pictured ) last month won the prestigious Pinnacle Award from the Exmoor Society for his use of smaller, less environmentally damaging equipment. British farmers will benefit after dairy co-operative Arla announced last week that it will hold the current milk price. The National Farmers Union said this was a “constructive move”. BAD TIMES The London Shooting Club has cancelled all its grouse shooting this season, citing a reduction in the size of coveys following the prolonged bad weather earlier this year. Almost a fifth of Yorkshire anglers — 49 out of 235 surveyed by the Environment Agency last month — were found guilty of fishery offences.…

In response to Tony Jackson’s article ( A new score to settle , 26 August), regarding the CIC evaluation system, BASC, the British Dear Society (BDS) and Sporting Rifle (SR) would like to make the following corrections. In 2008, BASC set up its own trophy measuring system. In 2013, SR joined BASC as a partner, with BDS joining as a third equal partner in 2015. This single, unified and widely supported system relies on a robust programme of training and verification, which includes annual review and assessment. We do not use stretching fabric tapes and all measurers use the same Kern digital scales. The measuring team itself is drawn from a widely respected group of deer enthusiasts, including experts in each of their respective species, and with whom the stalking…

The river Otter Beaver Trial is being led by Devon Wildlife Trust, in partnership with the University of Exeter, Derek Gow Consultancy and Clinton Devon Estates. Expert independent advice will be provided by the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, Professor John Gurnell and Gerhard Schwab, an international beaver expert based in Bavaria. In addition to the support of DWT members and others who have donated to the appeal, the trial is also funded by the Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts (RSWT). The ongoing research work at the enclosed beaver trial near Okehampton, in Devon, is funded by Westland Countryside Stewards and early monitoring work on the river Otter is paid for by the Higher Education Innovation Fund, via the University of Exeter.…

Meet the instructor Brad’s background as a professional stalker, both for private estates and for Forestry Commission Scotland, and his training as a sniper in the Marines, has given him the knowledge, experience and skills to take us through these first steps of achieving accurate, consistent results from your rifle, whether you have been stalking for decades or are interested in taking it up for the first time. We’ve covered how to set up your rifle, as well as zeroing. Now that you know that your rifle is capable of firing groups without your interference, you can start working on your skills. As you work through the next three articles in this series and you practise each of the steps, they will become second nature: a bit like when you’re…

I like the app on smartphones that tells you how many miles you’ve walked during a day. According to the phone of one of the non-shooting members of the party on Grimwith, she had covered 13km during the day. Those carrying guns reckoned that they had done quite a bit more than that, and I suspect that they were right. As we were shooting from 10am to 7pm — my longest shooting day ever — that’s only an average of about 1.5km an hour, which isn’t much at all. The Guns certainly covered quite a bit more ground, but the handlers, Sara and Maddy, must have covered the most. I was shooting with a camera, so reckon that I did my fair share of walking, too, as there’s nothing more…

As autumn comes creeping in and the novelty of the grouse season subsides into steady routine, it’s a good moment to see how the blackgame have done during the summer. The cold, grim conditions that devastated the red grouse broods in May would not have had the same impact on the young blackgame, which hatch a few weeks later, but the knock-on effect of the late spring held back many of the most important plant and insect species. There was no cover to conceal young birds from hungry predators until the grass really started to grow in June. The rushy pastures where blackgame usually try to bring up their broods were bare and exposed until high summer. This put paid to many young curlew chicks, which depend upon secure breeding…

German Sport Guns (GSG) has launched the GSG1911 .22 LR, a long-barrelled pistol developed for the UK market with modifications specifically to meet the required 600mm minimum firearm length. The pistol, designed in close collaboration with Edgar Bros, incorporates a moderator and an arm brace that increases the size of the gun to adhere to UK firearms legislation. Derek Edgar, managing director of Edgar Bros, said the pistol allowed the company to work in a new market.…

A farm manager has blamed badgers after 23 heifers were slaughtered when they failed a tuberculosis test last month. George Perrott, of Otter Farm in east Devon, said the herd may have contracted the disease from infected badgers. He told the Western Morning News: “Our cows graze hundreds of acres of grassland around the parishes of Colaton Raleigh and within that area are contaminated badger setts. We do all that we can to separate them but it’s impossible to remove all risk”…

The England shooting team claimed victory in four of the team categories, and came runner-up in the fifth, at the English Skeet Home International at Mid-Wales Shooting Centre last month. The England seniors, ladies, veterans and super-veterans all won their sections, with the juniors finishing second. Gary Cooke was High Gun, shooting a perfect 150 out of 150 to claim the Telpyn Cup, the Gamebore Cup and the Alistair Ford Trophy.…

NEWS IN RUSSIA A group of rare spoon-billed sandpipers, which were hand-reared by experts from the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust, have returned to breed in Siberia. Earlier this month, five of the small birds made a 10,000-mile round trip from south-east Asia to their Russian breeding grounds, where at least three of them went on to mate and produce eggs of their own. Shooting ground challenges site restrictions NORFOLK: The managers of the Chalk Farm clay ground in Narborough have lodged an appeal against planning conditions they believe could force the ground to close for two months of the year. The ground was set up after permission for a change of use from farmland in 2012, but a condition preventing the site from hosting lit evening shoots in March and…

IN ASSOCIATION WITH A historical otterhound mix-up? Your article on otterhounds (Summer hound music, 8 July) included a photo captioned “The Dallam Pack in 1930 in Suffolk”. At that time, we had a pack called the Kendal and District Otterhounds based at Dallam Towers, a mile from where I live. The squire of the Dallam estate, Sir Maurice Bromley-Wilson, was the Master of the pack. Your photo (above right) is almost identical to one (right) that I took recently, which shows the tree-lined road through Dallam Deer Park, with the same field with a wall in the right-hand edge. Behind the wood in the background lie the kennels. The similarity of the photos and the juxtaposition of the Dallam/Kendal and District Otterhounds, makes me wonder if there has been some…

1 Start a fuel savings account because you will be driving around doing more recon than shooting. 2 Communicate with farmers and keepers — they can give you the heads-up to their activity and save wasted trips. 3 Weather can improve the situation — if there has been a spell of rain, get ready for the dry days after. 4 Keep a close eye on farming practices — when the stubbles reduce in number, pigeon populations will start to condense again. 5 Be prepared to make an early call on when to shoot. It could even be on the day you find the birds. 6 As the stubbles reduce in number, you can afford to let them build up. However, when the stubbles are plentiful, take your opportunities when they…

At long last, the black of night eased in to the dark blue that heralds the arrival of a new dawn. My sole companion, Dom, a black-and-white springer spaniel, sat comfortably on a small groundsheet placed over the mud. In contrast, I had to keep moving my legs to stop them sinking in the ooze of the deep, V-shaped creek. The Kestrel 10-bore had been filled up with tungsten-matrix BB home-loads about an hour before, after I had put up a camouflage-netting hide below the lip of the deep gutter. Experience has taught me to arrive early and to be ready for action as soon as possible on morning flights. Small parties of geese often slip quietly off the shore, under the cover of darkness, before the big skeins jump.…

Nick Weston runs courses on foraging and outdoor cookery in the Sussex woods, teaching all forms of self-sufficiency, including fire-making, shelter construction and deer butchery. For more information, visit www.huntergathercook.com. Stalking deer inevitably leads to a full freezer. We eat plenty of deer at Hunter Gather Cook and this mighty carne salada , made using cuts off the back haunch, is something special. Personal preference would be silverside, mainly because of its shape, but topside and rump are equally strong contenders for this dish. From the Trentino province in the Dolomites of Northern Italy, carne salada is traditionally made using topside of grass-fed beef trimmed of all fat. All our deer species in the UK lend themselves to this type of curing — the result is more like a cured…

ASK THE VET TONY BUCKWELL is a retired veterinary surgeon, who now acts as an advisor on animal welfare, breeding and husbandry. If you are concerned about your dog’s health, always seek veterinary advice. Detecting cataracts What are the features of hereditary cataract (HC) in Labradors? D. Walsh, by email TONY BUCKWELL SAYS: Hereditary cataract (HC) may either be due to a dominant gene with what’s known as “incomplete penetrance” or to a recessive gene. The cataract is not always apparent in younger dogs so they can pass on the condition to their offspring. The cataract affects the back of the lens and doesn’t necessarily cause complete blindness. Research at the Animal Health Trust aims to identify the gene(s) responsible, how it’s inherited and develop a DNA test. Owners of…

No sooner had I written last week’s column (26 August), saying that BBC TV’s Look North had not responded to a friend’s complaint, than he received an email from the programme editor. “I have to say I agree with you. I have had the necessary conversations to make sure it doesn’t happen again,” it said. “On the Glorious Twelfth, we made sure that we achieved the necessary balance in a similar story (I appreciate that this isn’t directly hen harrier related). Thank you for bringing this issue to my attention.” Fair enough. My friend was gratified to know that a real person answered his missive and his faith in the BBC was, to some extent, restored. We just have to hope that the damage caused by the Beeb’s piece on…