Innholdsfortegnelse for 23-Nov-2016 i Shooting Times & Country

One of our most frustrating challenges has been how to educate the general public so they have an honest, unbiased perspective of fieldsports. And when it comes to education through television, it appears to be a battle we are losing. This week sees yet another fracas with the institution we once benignly called Auntie, as the Countryside Alliance has complained about biased reporting by the programme Inside Out London (p.4). Bias is the key reason behind our frustration with Springwatch and Countryfi le. Are the BBC’s programme makers anti-shooting? Or are they simply pandering to what they believe urban audiences want to see? Though the BBC is publicly funded, it is still driven by ratings and competition with commercial channels. It believes the public want to view the countryside through…

John Thompson (pictured), 85, from Sutton in North Yorkshire, has been awarded a special pheasant trophy in a presentation by Thirlby & District Gun Club, for the long-serving and active role he has played in all aspects of the club for the past 70 years. The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) has just invested £25million towards repairing and protecting the countryside surrounding Sheffield, Glasgow, London and Bath. “Our historic landscapes are incredibly important to people’s well-being and need to be protected,” said HLF chief executive Ros Kerslake. Sussex Police has advised pubs, restaurants, hotels and gamedealers to take extra precautions to ensure that they are not buying illegally killed game, as November marks a seasonal rise in poaching across the county. Perthshire keeper and Scottish Gamekeepers Association committee member Ronnie Kippen…

“There are facets of night shooting that seem to expose the most base and unpleasant aspects of our sport” I read with a growing sense of unease the article by my old friend Bruce Potts (All right on the night, 2 November) and, the following week, another by Mat Manning (Using a wealth of stealth, 9 November). Both extolled the virtues of the latest developments in night-vision and thermal-imaging equipment, the majority of which appears to cost a modest fortune (£300 to £8,000) and requires the user (note I did not say sportsman) to convert himself into something closely resembling a frontline sniper in a war zone. Don’t misunderstand me. While I may appear a Luddite in certain aspects pertaining to fieldsports, I am well aware that the ever-evolving development…

“There are rolling hills topped with mature hedges and the birds proved quite challenging” For generations, the farming community have had to make sure that they never have “all their eggs in one basket” and if you were to look up in the Oxford English Dictionary the definition of the word “diversification” you will find that one meaning is “the process of a company enlarging or varying its range of product”. Working the land and looking after livestock has been a way of life for the Coles family for three generations. After the acquisition of further farmland with some suitable shooting land and fishing lakes, eldest son Ben took on the task of developing Park Farm into a good-quality but relaxed and informal syndicate shoot. Plans for expansion Ben’s father…

“The ‘picture frame’ woods give game management bad press for planting the wrong thing in the wrong place” Fifteen or 20 years ago the RSPB found itself the centre of a wee controversy when it proposed to cut down a big oak tree on one of its reserves on the Somerset Levels. Many of us smiled to ourselves when it explained that the reason for doing this was that the solitary tree housed a crow’s nest each year, and that the crows were preying on lapwings and other birds on its reserve. The public indignation — on the subject of vandalism from tree huggers, and how to control crows from game managers — was a delight to behold. I had some sympathy for the RSPB. Aside from the fact that…

“Hunting with heads up or down, golden retrievers have all impressed with their bird-finding ability” ONE OF THE MYSTERIES of the gundog world is why golden retrievers are a comparative rarity in the shooting field, especially compared with the ubiquitous Labrador. Fashion undoubtedly has a great deal to do with this, because a good golden, trained to the highest standard, is every bit a match for even the best of Labradors. Though annual registrations of Labradors far outnumber those for golden retrievers, there are always more goldens at Crufts than Labradors. This is hardly surprising, for the golden is the showiest of animals, handsome, well proportioned and a stunning colour. Sadly, recent years have seen pale lemon, even almost-white dogs dominate in the show ring; fortunately, working-bred animals invariably retain…

I hate to think how much garden birdwatchers are spending on providing food for woodpigeon. Seed may be intended for sparrows and finches but woodpigeon hoover up far more than smaller birds, on bird tables and under hanging feeders. Winters used to be tough for woodpigeon but autumn-sown oilseed rape in fields and the increase in garden feeding fill the gap between the last hawthorn berries and the first burst of leaves in the spring. Other mid-winter food includes ivy berries, which brings them into competition with blackbirds and thrushes. This is not a real contest: one woodpigeon weighs the same as five blackbirds. The increase in woodpigeon numbers may be having an impact upon collared dove numbers in gardens and mistle thrushes in the wider countryside. There is a…

25-27 NOVEMBER NGO DEERSTALKING CERTIFICATE 1 COURSE Calton Moor Farm, Ashbourne, Derbyshire Tel 01833 660869 27 NOVEMBER KENNEL CLUB CANINE SPORTS SCIENCE SEMINAR Kennel Club Building, Stoneleigh Park, Warwickshire Tel 01296 318540 2 DECEMBER BASC SHOTGUN SAFETY OFFICER COURSE Beech Hill Memorial Hall, Reading, Berkshire Tel 01244 573018 6-8 DECEMBER INTERNATIONAL GUNDOG LEAGUE RETRIEVER CHAMPIONSHIP Ampton Shooting Estate, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk Tel 01449 740463 Tel 01244 573018 11 DECEMBER GWCT BEDFORDSHIRE WINE-TASTING EVENING Howbury Hall, Bedfordshire Tel 07966 393405 28 DECEMBER LONDON SHOOTING CLUB MEMBERS’ CHRISTMAS SHOOT The Ridgeway shoot, Oxfordshire Tel 07737 744950…

Views sought on pine marten project Professor Xavier Lambin of the University of Aberdeen has sought the views of land managers and landowners on his proposals to increase pine marten populations around the Tweed Valley to reduce grey squirrel numbers in the area. At a meeting held at Torwoodlee & Buckholm estates, Galashiels, earlier this month, Prof Lambin outlined his bid to the Natural Environment Research Council for a four-year, £800,000 project focusing on the ecological interactions between martens, squirrels and the pox virus. The bid will be submitted in January 2017 and, if successful, a population reinforcement experiment could start in 2018. GWCT chief highlights recent trust successes Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT) chief executive Teresa Dent (pictured centre, with committee member Rupert Bevan and trustee Nick Williams)…

LOVE THE LURCHERS Congratulations on a great Christmas bumper issue! I really enjoyed it and there was loads to read, as well as some fabulous photographs. The pictures of the lurchers (Lights, lurchers, camera, action! 16 November) were amazing, even more so because they were taken by a 21-year-old. The love that young Craig McCann-McMillan has for the countryside shines through in all his photos. The opening black-and-white picture is stunning, but I particularly love the photo on the next pages of Simon Whitehead’s lurcher, Tawny, closing in on a rabbit. You can see the determination in the dog’s eyes through the spray of kicked-up snow — absolutely stunning. I’m sure we will be hearing much more about young Craig, and I look forward to seeing more of his wonderful…

“In the run-up to Christmas, the mudflats seethe with over-wintering waders and wildfowl” Every time I walk the gravel footpath that leads down to Newtown creek on the Isle of Wight, I recall the time I saw my first male orange-tip butterfly. I was on a school trip, aged about eight, and we were destined to go and watch wildlife. Bedazzled by the butterfly’s beautiful, flaming wing tips, I tried to catch it and chased the little chap down the footpath towards the saltings. Mrs Hutchings, my elderly school teacher, had a reputation for being rather fierce. Had any other lad broken rank and legged it down the path, they would have got an earful. But not me, for I’d inadvertently become the teacher’s pet on account of being the…

“I am constantly checking on how the birds are doing and where they are on the ground” Ben Cole, 32, has had a passion for birds from an early age and would build feeding stations for his local wild bird population. He reared his own chickens on the family farm and, when he was old enough, he and a group of friends would have a “walk about” roughshoot around the hedgerows and field margins and this fired up his enthusiasm for shooting and fieldsports. Looking after livestock is in his blood. “The thing I enjoy most about shooting is the rearing of the birds,” he said. “I treat my pheasants the same as I would any other livestock on the farm. They get the best food, the best accommodation (pens…

These two dishes are taken from Recipes from the Woods, a new book from respected French chef and writer Jean-François Mallet. It features 100 recipes, each beautifully illustrated, using game and foraged ingredients, such as chestnuts, dandelion leaves, nettles and wild strawberries, with simple preparation and cooking techniques. Organised into chapters based on food type — furred game (venison, wild boar, hare), feathered game (partridge, pheasant, quail), mushrooms, herbs, and snails, and nuts and berries — the recipes include dishes such as sautéed venison with port and chestnuts and stuffed partridge with kale, and seek to encourage readers to discover the pleasure of cooking game and wild foods. Jean-François Mallet has taught at the École Supérieure de Cuisine Française in Paris, and worked for many years with renowned chefs such…

One of the first people I interviewed when I started writing this column was Michael Twist, a golden retriever enthusiast for more than 40 years. He both showed and worked his retrievers, as dogs from his Bryanstown Kennels were genuine dual-purpose animals. His greatest success was with a dog called Bryanstown Gale Warning, a champion in the show ring and good enough as a shooting dog to be placed fourth in the Irish Retriever Championship in 1970. Michael was not only a notable dog handler, he was also a real countryman with tremendous knowledge of the land. He was a great story teller, too, writing a delightful trilogy of reminiscences: The Spacious Days, Hallowed Acres and The Glory Days. These three books tell of Michael’s childhood growing up at Burnham,…

BILL HARRIMAN BASC’s head of firearms and global authority on guns MAT MANNING Airgunner and journalist from the West Country BRUCE POTTS Shooting Times rifle reviewer and stalker DAVID TOMLINSON Highly regarded writer and ornithologist LIAM BELL NGO chairman, 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,…

Instantly recognisable, the Hereford with its red body and white face is one of Britain’s most celebrated exports. Today it is probably the most numerous, as well as the most widely distributed, beef breed in the world. There are many different stories about its history, but it certainly comes from the Welsh borders and remains a common sight in Herefordshire even today. The first herd book was published in 1846, with the breed society founded in 1878. Its success is easily explained. The Hereford is docile and easy to manage. It matures early, producing excellent beef. It is also highly adaptable to environments that can range from cold uplands to hot and arid plains. Herefords dominate the beef herds of both North and South America, as well as Australia and…

“Snares are a necessary and effective countryside management tool used by conservationists, farmers, gamekeepers and land managers to prevent predation by foxes. Foxes not only kill threatened species of ground-nesting birds, such as curlews and lapwings, but also gamebirds and domestic poultry.” BASC NI director Tommy Mayne welcomes the Assembly’s decision to approve the draft snares order. 557k Figures from the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board show that the net oilseed rape area for harvest in 2017 could be the lowest for 13 years, with only 557,000 hectares predicted. This would be the fifth year that the planted area for the crop has fallen.…

TAKE A PICTURE BASC has launched the #ScotShots photo competition, which aims to capture the big picture of shooting in Scotland. Amateur photographers are encouraged to take shots with their camera of all the components that make a shoot day. Prizes for the winning entries include Swarovski binoculars, a Tuffies dog bed, a two-day shooting experience and a day with a professional photographer. Winning entries will feature in a calendar, the proceeds of which will be donated to the Scottish Youth in the Countryside Education Trust. The images will also be exhibited on the BASC stand at game fairs across the country — with a prize-giving to be held at the Scottish Game Fair. Visit www.basc.org.uk/scotshots by 1 February to take part. READ Shooting Times contributor Guy N. Smith’s new…

“We supply many estates and country houses around the UK with their own special labelled fruit gins” What is the history of Foxdenton estate? The estate is based in Lancashire and was acquired by my family through marriage in 1367. Our branch of the family lived at Foxdenton Hall until the late 18th century when they moved down to Dorset; since then we have ended up in Buckinghamshire. The land was kept and was developed as part of the industrialisation of the towns around Manchester. We continue to own a very small amount of land in Lancashire but the hall and grounds were leased to the local council in 1926 and the hall was eventually sold to the council in 1960. What sets Foxdenton estate gin apart from other brands?…

“Diseases fare better in high densities of birds — any sort of bird — and the red grouse is not immune to that prognosis” The 2016 grouse season is almost done. Sadly, though, for some it never really started. For others it was a season of sorts, and for the fortunate keepers in the north Pennines, it has been a very good one. Whatever it has been like, Avery et al please note, the most important thing is not what you start with, it’s what you end up with. The logic is that if you have very few birds in the beginning, you have none to spare, and so on up the numbers scale, because you must leave a stock for next year. What is important, though, in that simple…

People often ask: “How old should my dog be before taking it into the beating line?” The truth is there is no straight answer — so much depends on the dog and the trainer’s ability. But the question every trainer should be asking themselves is: “Is my dog ready to go beating?” Of all the participants on a shoot, a beater with their dog has the most potential to ruin a well-planned drive, so it is vital that the dog, whether a novice or a seasoned gundog, is well trained and that its handler is aware of the points at which things can go awry. READY AND STEADY FOR ANYTHING? The main job of a dog in the beating line is to find and flush game. The volume of birds…

“If there is negligence on your part, your certificate will be revoked and you may be prosecuted as well” Now that the season is fully under way, I think that a timely reminder about gun security in the car would not go amiss. I’m told by my colleague, Detective Chief Superintendent Jo Chilton of the National Ballistic Intelligence Service, that there have been targeted thefts of shotguns in the North West. Certificate holders are responsible people and gun thefts from cars are very rare, but we must not become complacent. Every shotgun certificate carries a statutory condition that imposes a duty on the holder to look after the shotguns to which it relates. It is a criminal offence to fail to comply with a condition on a certificate. The penalties…

Plant: Old man’s beard Latin name: Clematis vitalba Other names: Traveller’s joy How to spot it and where to find it: Found in many areas of the UK except northern Scotland, this vigorous perennial climbing shrub is part of the buttercup family and can grow to 40ft or more. The leaf stalks entwine around any nearby support, becoming woody as they mature. The plant’s white flowers appear from July to September and are visited by pollinating insects, including bees and hoverflies, but it particularly stands out in the autumn and winter when the flowers develop to form seed clusters. These clusters have long, silky white-grey hairs, giving the plant its feathery appearance; hence the name “old man’s beard”. These silky structures can often be seen growing on top of hedgerows,…

“Gun owners are a convenient minority to target in trying to transfer blame from the criminal to the victim” It is an unfortunate part of human nature that somebody always has to be blamed. So-called acts of God, even, are often blamed on some sort of human foible. Worse, to my mind, is when people try to blame the victim of crime for being somehow culpable in becoming a victim. Examples of this nefarious tendency include a proposal by a senior Labour figure that any lawful gun owner who has their gun stolen should automatically have their certificate revoked. It is a condition of your certificate that you keep your guns safe and secure. This means taking reasonable precautions. I think we all know and accept our duty in this…