Innholdsfortegnelse for 04-Jan-2017 i Shooting Times & Country

Happy New Year and may the remainder of the current season and the rest of 2017 be full of great sport for you all. This is going to be an interesting year for fieldsports and the rural economy, so I asked our representative organisations for their thoughts on what the coming 12 months may hold (see p.4). The aftermath of Brexit and the ever-present threats from the usual suspects are at the forefront. Britain’s move away from the EU was described as “generation defining”. It will be, but at least we have some control over our destiny. The Government is probably more understanding of the rural economy and the importance of the shooting sports than its predecessors. It is unlikely that anything will be implemented next year, but we should…

 IT IS ALWAYS difficult to predict the future. In reality, the only thing we can really guarantee is change. A change in farming practices maybe (perhaps without environmental subsidies); new wildlife laws departing from the parent EU directives; differences in the way sportsmen can travel with firearms — none of these potential impacts of our exit from the EU are likely to bite during 2017, but with negotiations due to take place this year, the foundations may well be set for what follows. Just how fundamental the Brexit implications for gamekeeping and shooting will be won’t be known for years, but historians may well look back on 2017 as the start of that change. “The pound’s fall in value could see a return to home-bred birds” More immediate will be…

The CLA has warned MPs that rural tourism is threatened by underinvestment and explained that it faces unique challenges not experienced in urban areas. CLA adviser Dr Charles Trotman told the EFRA committee last month: “Rural tourism supports rural businesses and local communities, providing around £11billion a year to the English economy. However, poor digital connectivity and underinvestment threaten the unique nature of rural tourism.” Salmon Trust issues supermarket challenge Salmon & Trout Conservation Scotland (S&TCS) has challenged the Co-op and Sainsbury’s supermarkets to “live up to their claims of ‘environmental responsibility’” by removing salmon farmed in areas where sea-lice infestation is high from their shelves. Andrew Graham-Stewart, director of S&TCS, said: “These supermarkets should use their commercial clout in line with their declared environmental policies and issue ultimatums that…

What a fabulous article. I grew up with terriers, long dogs and working dogs so had the pleasure of seeing the variety of behaviours as my father trained them. That said, as soon as I could get my first dog as a grown-up it was a Bedlington terrier-whippet (below). He’s been an absolute terror at times, but I adore him and he has the loveliest nature. I don’t work my dogs due to my health — but they still know how to knock a rat over in the garden. Jo White Three’s definitely not a crowd with this lot (below). I’d have loads more if I could! Alice Owens This is Lola, who likes to play chase with rats (below). B. Doherty They don’t care how cold or wet it…

James Brownbridge is a Yorkshireman and a countryman through and through. He has been helping out on shoots since he was 17 and, growing up, his family farm always had shoots. Though this is only his second season in charge of the running of the shoot at Stapleton, for the five years before that he was actively involved in beating and picking-up. “Though I am in charge, I can’t stress enough how much gratitude I owe to two of our syndicate members, Dennis Carr and Joe Carville,” he said. “They help enormously with the day-to-day running of things, such as feeding and fixing pens, and without their input we would not have a shoot here at Stapleton.” Stapleton is primarily a Manchurian-cross pheasant shoot, but James takes great pleasure from…

“We will end up with one less tool in our fox control box if we don’t all do our bit” The new Code of Best Practice on the use of fox snares in England has just been published, and I recommend that anyone who intends to set fox snares reads it. If we are to keep snaring, we need to follow the code. Bad practice will put an end to snaring and we will end up with one less tool in our fox control box if we don’t all do our bit. The code is aimed at people who use snares in England and seeks to improve wildlife management and fox control, while at the same time minimising the risk to non-target species. It is a prime example of collaborative…

Do you remember the heady excitement of childhood Christmases? I recall my siblings and me struggling to go to sleep on Christmas Eve. Eventually, after lots of chattering about the presents we hoped would be beneath the Christmas tree, we would conk out. The first one to wake up — well before the crack of dawn — would rouse the whole family and we would rush downstairs, to see if Santa had left some goodies. He never let us down and, within minutes, the living-room carpet would be strewn with ripped-up wrapping paper, toys, sweets, books and ecstatic children. Five decades later, the levels of anticipation and insomnia still held. The difference was that this was the early hours of Christmas Eve. Instead of staring out of the window for…

“The fact that cockerpoos look impossibly cute shouldn’t be held against them” I MUST ADMIT that I’ve never seriously considered the potential of the cockerpoo (cocker spaniel-poodle cross) as a gundog, but a recent encounter on a Sussex shoot did give me food for thought. Four cockerpoos were in the beating line, and from what I saw they were doing an excellent job, hunting with enthusiasm and no fear of cover. It was clear that all four were real characters, and the fact that they looked impossibly cute shouldn’t be held again them. I hadn’t gone to the Holbeam Wood shoot, near Wadhurst, to watch the cockerpoos: they were just a bonus. I was there to fulfil a pledge made earlier this year at George Butler’s annual shoot evening of…

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 rifl e 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…

Until the 19th century rabbits were bred largely for their fur and their meat, but in the Victorian era they became popular as pets. As a result a variety of ornamental breeds were developed through selective breeding. The English lop is considered to be the first breed of lop-eared rabbit, but other varieties of lop soon followed, including the French lop and the Netherlands dwarf. Today there are 19 varieties, though not all are recognised by the British Rabbit Council (BRC). The BRC has strict breed standards, and for the miniature lop it requires the ears to be broad, thick, well-furred and rounded at the ends. In addition, the ears should be carried close to the cheeks, giving a horseshoe-like outline when viewed from the front. Most lop-eared rabbits are…

 AS WE BEGIN cutting our ties with the European Union (EU) in 2017, there are those who will not be too excited about the development of a new agricultural policy for the UK — but we should be. It is an amazing opportunity to shape our countryside for a generation. If we get it right, our farms, their local economies and wildlife will thrive. Get it wrong and the impact on the countryside will be profound. “Get the new policy wrong and the impact on the countryside will be profound” Political parties of all colours have supported reform of the existing EU Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) for years, and DEFRA has already begun scoping a replacement policy. The question is, what will it look like? The Game & Wildlife Conservation…

 THE 2016 BATTLES over lead, snaring and grouse shooting have highlighted the need for shooting to have an effective political and public relations voice, and this need will grow in 2017. “Expect further attacks on shooting sports during 2017” The Countryside Alliance (CA) exists to provide that voice, and we spend a great deal of time trying to determine where the next attack might come from. We expect the campaign against snaring will rumble on, particularly in Wales and Scotland. Animal rights groups have identified the Scottish Parliament and the Welsh Assembly as easy targets where their agenda is less likely to be rigorously scrutinised, so we expect further attacks on shooting in those institutions. Decisions taken in Wales and Scotland move the debate across the whole country, so the…

The British Shooting Sports Council (BSSC) has welcomed an “important” amendment to the Policing and Crime Bill, agreed in the House of Lords last month, regarding the lending of rifles and shotguns by a certificate holder. The amendment removes the uncertainty in the existing law as to who is an “occupier” for the purposes of lending a shotgun or rifle on private premises. The problem is that the word “occupier” is not defined in the legislation and has not been tested in the courts, creating confusion over who may lawfully lend guns on these premises. In a statement, the BSSC, which is an association of member organisations including, among others, the Countryside Alliance, BASC, the Clay Pigeon Shooting Association, the National Rifle Association and the Gun Trade Association, said: “This…

A DIFFERENT SYSTEM? After reading numerous letters and articles on the subject of shotgun and firearms licensing, I am convinced that it is time for the administrative function of licensing to be taken away from the police . We have administrative bodies for issuing driving licences, for example, and I cannot see why a similar process could not be followed for firearms. It will remove all of the personal conflicts between anti- and pro-shooting interests from forces throughout the country; a national gun register database is already in use; and, assuming it is up to date and accurate, the bulk of the information is already there for access by a private security or government body. The fundamental applicant’s interview, suitability and security would still be police responsibility, but why the…

“It was glorious; packs of teal came screaming down the channel, swirling and diving, flaring and climbing” “Make hay while the sun shines” is a favourite proverb of mine and one I adhere to whenever I go coastal wildfowling for, in my book, those who are prepared to toy with the tide deserve all the sport they can get. I was once a member of the South Hampshire Wildfowlers and Conservation Association. It looks after the foreshore from Pylewell marshes running east towards the Beaulieu river, where it spills into the Solent. I had a huge amount of fun with my old friend Des Purdy, tramping over the saltings and pottering through the creeks in a green plastic rowing boat that we christened Penelope, and it was only because an…

“Both the bracco and spinone have lovely temperaments, they are intelligent but not the easiest to train” It was the middle of November and along a tree-lined lane a few fat apples stubbornly hung on to their branches, defying the onset of winter. In the courtyard at the end of the lane in a great, old barn the jovial figure of Mike Fellows, the National Gamekeepers’ Organisation (NGO) regional chairman for Sussex, and his wife Kirsty were frying bacon and dishing out tea and coffee for a gathering throng of keen dog handlers on this chilly morning. However, this training day was one with a difference, for it was to feature two breeds that are only occasionally encountered on the shooting field…

Over the years, I have lost count of the number of dogs I have trained for both myself and Twistmount clients, yet every now and again a dog will do something totally unexpected and out of character. This may mean that you must totally rearrange your training programme and “think outside the box” to overcome the issue. Regular readers will have been following the progress of Dolly and Logan, my two young springers, and Remy the fox-red Labrador. Last month I went through an assessment of the dogs to make sure I was happy with their level of training with a view to introducing the springers into the beating line but, as they say, the best-laid plans of mice and men… IN DETAIL “I like to give a young…

Dogs are big business, as a visit to Crufts will remind you. Every year this four-day shows attracts many thousands of people, not to mention more than 20,000 dogs. The day to go this year is Saturday, 11 March, which is Gundog Day. And if you do go, make sure that you visit the gamekeepers’ classes, held in the BASC rings. Here, there’s the chance to see genuine working gundogs competing for an impressive variety of silverware. Entries are open to any working dogs that are Kennel Club registered, the exception being animals that were docked after 6 April 2007. If you are interested in entering, go to the BASC website where you will find all you need to know. The most important is the deadline. Entry to the BASC…

Plant: Groundsel Latin name: Senecio vulgaris Other names: Birdseed, chickenweed, flower of St Macarius, grinsel, simson How to spot it and where to find it: One of the few native plants that is in flower all year round, thanks to it being an ephemeral and overwintering weed, groundsel can be recognised by its long, ragged leaves that grow lower down its stem and its clusters of small, yellow flower heads that look like green and yellow tubes. The flowers are succeeded by downy heads of seeds, each of which is crowned with tufts of hair so that the wind can disperse them. Groundsel grows to about 45cm high and a single plant scatters an enormous amount of seed in its one season of growth. It grows in abundance throughout the…

“A bright, blue-sky day in the white-clad hills, with stupendous views and air that tastes like champagne” It’s a brand-new year; what will it bring for shooting? I find it comforting that, despite all the doom and gloom in the news, we shooters can relish the depth of winter. We may have seen the back end of 2016, but right now is still prime shooting season. For example, this is the time of year when I most appreciate hind stalking. There is nothing so invigorating as being up in the hills in January — particularly when there is some good, hard weather. I know a lot of professional stalkers in Scotland like to get their hind cull completed by Christmas, but for recreational stalkers, December is just too damn dark;…

“New post-Brexit policy can deliver better outcomes for our countryside” AFTER SIX MONTHS of talk, 2017 will see the hard decisions on the post-Brexit future of the UK come into focus. There is plenty of risk — securing the right trade deal with the EU for the UK farming and food sector is the defining challenge — but we must not lose sight of the big opportunities. We have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reshape the policy that governs the way we use our land and manage the landscape. This brings great opportunities for the enjoyment of shooting and the success of shooting businesses. The CLA is setting the agenda for creating a new dedicated, fully funded and world-leading Food, Farming and Environmental policy. We are in no doubt that it…

 THOUGH THERE ARE threats to shooting everywhere, we are fortunate to live in what might be called the golden age of shooting. Never have so many shot over so much land, and the likelihood is that numbers and acreage will continue to grow. “We’re fortunate to be living in a golden age of shooting” Shooting was in the public eye in 2016 , especially grouse shooting. There is a lesson in that debate. High standards, complying with the law and best practice are not optional extras. They are the foundation without which shooting will fail. Every bad apple who persecutes a raptor, puts profit before environment or acts outside the law and best practice hands a weapon to those who want to see an end to shooting. That was the…

BASC Scotland director Dr Colin Shedden rejected calls for the licensing of gamebird hunting as he addressed the Scottish Parliament’s public petitions committee last month. Responding to a petition calling for game shoot licensing, Dr Shedden highlighted the large number of existing regulations to which shoots are already subject. “During the evidence session we were able to express our concerns about the proposed licensing system,” he said. “We are already subject to a high volume of regulation and there are sufficient criminal sanctions in place to deter and catch criminals. There is no evidence that a licensing scheme would be any more effective, but it would undoubtedly place a burden on shooting in Scotland.” BASC further questioned the “anti-shooting agenda” of other groups, including the RSPB, also giving evidence to…

My son Paul and I were lucky enough to be invited to the Boxall & Edmiston (B&E) Burrard Academy open day recently. It was a revelation for me to listen to what the staff at B&E had to say and what they are trying their very best to achieve. Congratulations to B&E for having the foresight in recognising the need to provide training for young gunmakers. I am old-school and believe that there is only one way to learn a skill — the proper way, even if the process is hard, slow and not always well paid. It’s like building a house; if the foundations aren’t sound then the whole structure can fail. At the beginning of a presentation, entitled“Why the gun industry needs to teach young people how to…

“The estate’s owner David Carr, in an act of great generosity, gifted the village locals the shooting rights on the land” ALancashire man goes to visit a Yorkshireman in the fog… This could easily be mistaken for the beginning of a cross-Pennine joke. However, on this occasion the journey did take place, in the fog, on a very cold November morning, when I made the 90-minute drive to meet Yorkshireman James Brownbridge, who runs the Stapleton Park estate shoot near Pontefract. Situated just outside the village of Darrington, the shoot covers 1,000 acres of arable farmland mixed with 250 acres of deciduous woodland and is steeped in history that dates back to 1796. Stapleton Park had been a typical country estate consisting of a hall with gardens, farm buildings, arable…

It was a good view, what I could see of it as it faded slowly into the night. It was good but it was not the view that, for more than 20 years, I have associated with flighting duck: an unfamiliarity explained by the fact that I was not waiting for the sound of wings on the edge of Low Park Pond. For when I am sitting there as the evening deepens, there is a stand of tall Scots pines above and behind me on the left; between the pines and the pond flows a beck and along its farther course stretches a curving line of willows, with above them an untidy copse of holly, hazel and birch. The pond itself lies in a hollow of the ground and the…

Best sticks for stalking STALKING Q Would you use shooting sticks or bipods to steady your rifle while deerstalking? A The simple answer is both. It depends on the terrain and range that I will be shooting over. Woodland deer require sticks and a fast shot, while on the hill after stags there is more time to deploy and steady the aim with a bipod. However, I feel totally at odds without a good pair of sticks whether foxing or deerstalking. Not only are they a great aid in a solid stance from standing but also on hilly terrain they are an invaluable tool for avoiding a tumble, for gauging depths of water and prodding the eyeball of a deer to ascertain mortality. I would use a telescopic pair of…

They might not be as obvious as woodpigeon but stock doves have been doing very well in the past 50 years. According to figures from the British Trust for Ornithology, numbers are three times as high as in 1966, when the species may well have still been recovering from the lethal and sub-lethal effects of organochlorine seed dressings that were used in the 1950s and early 1960s. Recent increases have been strongest in the east and west, with numbers declining in the English Midlands. Flocks will soon start to break up as birds pair up for the forthcoming breeding season. The first eggs may be laid at the start of March and the last brood of youngsters could still be being fed in November. Favourite nesting locations include holes in…