Innholdsfortegnelse for 27-July-2016 i Shooting Times & Country

THE POST-BREXIT DEFRA team is now complete (p.4) and its priority will surely be to develop an agricultural policy. Uncertainty is especially bad for farming, where working with natural cycles means planning years ahead. As there was no pre-Brexit contingency plan, the ministers and civil servants will have their work cut out and we must be patient. The main concern is that, instead of taking this great opportunity to reduce red tape and switch a greater proportion of public money to agri-environmental schemes, Brexit will be an excuse to make cuts. The advantage of Europe was that the money was locked in. The agricultural lobby was strong; Brussels bureaucrats took on French farmers at their peril. Furthermore, national governments have competing priorities, such as health and education, and when the…

Rural groups have united in their criticism of TV presenter Chris Packham following his latest attack on grouse moors. Earlier this month, the Springwatch host called on Marks & Spencer to stop selling grouse. He released a video on his YouTube channel in which he branded shot grouse as “toxic” and urged viewers to lobby the high-street retailer via Twitter. BASC, the National Gamekeepers’ Organisation (NGO), Countryside Alliance (CA) and Moorland Association have all called for the BBC to withdraw its support for Mr Packham, who regularly presents nature and conservation programmes for the broadcaster. BASC chairman Peter Glenser said: “For Chris Packham to condemn shot grouse as ‘toxic’ is blatant misrepresentation.” Tim Bonner, CA chief executive, commented: “[Mr Packham] cannot continue to trade on his profile as a BBC…

WATCH BBC iPlayer is repeating an episode of Natural Worldfrom 2009 in which wildlife filmmaker Rebecca Hosking looks at how to transform her family’s Devon farm into a low-energy business for the future. With her father due to retire soon, Rebecca wants to end the farm’s reliance on fossil fuels when she takes over the reins, and discovers that nature may provide the solution to her quest. Available to watch on BBC iPlayer until Monday, 15 August. IN THE GARDEN There will be plenty of pests invading the garden during the warmer weather and you must be vigilant if you want to protect your plants and vegetables. You will need to keep an eye out for slugs on your crops, and remove any blackfly from the tips of your broad…

Howard Brittain of the Bramham Park estate near Leeds in West Yorkshire has become one of just a handful of gamekeepers from throughout the country to earn a prestigious 50-year CLA Long Service Medal. The Peter Jones Foundation’s annual charity shoot at Royal Berkshire Shooting School last month raised £140,000. The money will help to fund educational activities and initiatives which champion and celebrate entrepreneurship among young people. The expansion of wild boar in Europe may have had a negative impact on ground-nesting bird populations, particularly waders, in Sweden, according to a report in the European Journal of Wildlife Research. The Angling Trust and the Bass Anglers’ Sportfishing Society are calling for a ban on bass netting after new figures indicate that stocks of sea bass around the UK and…

The Soil Association has called on supermarkets and major bread companies to put a stop to pre-harvest glyphosate use, following the extension of the chemical weedkiller’s licence by the European Commission last month (News, 20 July). The National Farmers Union and the CLA welcomed news that the substance, which is the most widely used weedkiller in the world, would be authorised for use for another 18 months — though not the 15 years sought. But the Soil Association was disappointed with the decision as it believes the weedkiller poses a health risk. The organisation wrote to businesses including Sainsbury’s, Warburtons and Hovis, noting: “The response from UK bread manufacturers to our previous requests that they ensure that glyphosate is not used on the wheat that will supply the flour for…

 On 12 July, just before she left office as Secretary of State at DEFRA, Elizabeth Truss wrote to John Swift, chairman of the Lead Ammunition Group (LAG). She thanked him for his report but said that it “did not show that the impacts of lead ammunition were significant enough to justify changing current policy”, and that she did not accept his “recommendation to ban its use”. “Some saw the LAG as an exercise in emotion rather than of science” As someone who represented the shooting interest on the LAG until I resigned last May — along with my colleagues Mark Tufnell, John Batley and Stephen Crouch — this response came as a relief but no great surprise to me. What made us resign was that some of the group were…

KIT AND CLOTHING • Camouflage is popular but I use a wool-checked top, which is natural-coloured but also silent, which is very important. I can forego camouflage but cannot shoot without gloves. • Silhouettes, rangefinding, setting out wind tape, and whether to stalk or hide are all valid considerations before you set out on any rabbit shoot. I like rabbit shooting on the hoof as you travel light, unlike hide shooting with poles, hides and decoys. It feels more natural to me. • A good-quality pellet or bullet pouch to protect your cartridges and keep them from getting wet is worth having. GROUNDWORK • The best spots to stalk are where there is plenty of gorse, thorn bushes and brambles interspersed with open cauldrons and hollows where you can use…

It is not just the welcoming atmosphere, comfortable stylish interiors and the prospect of enjoying good food and fine wine that make Bel & The Dragon inns so well suited for shooting enthusiasts. The seven venues in the south of England are spread through rural areas of Hampshire, Berkshire and Surrey including Churt, Odiham, Kingsclere and Cookham where, in the case of these four, you can stay overnight in one of the well-appointed bedrooms where gun safes are also available. Each Bel & The Dragon location has its own gardens where seasonal produce is grown and used and the menu is cleverly split into three styles of dining: a rotisserie offers such delights as suckling pig or guinea fowl, the Josper grill serves chargrilled sirloin steak or marinated veal chop,…

Plant: Wood avens Latin name: Geum urbanum Other common names: Herb bennet, bennet’s root, old man’s whiskers How to spot it and where to find it: Growing up to 60cm tall, most commonly found in woods and hedgebanks, wood avens is widespread throughout Britain and has small upturned but quickly drooping yellow flowers that appear on slender stems from May to August. It is a hairy plant with three-lobed downy leaves and the flowers appear in loose clusters. They are replaced by spiky seed heads with red hooks that are easily picked up and dispersed by passing animals. Interesting facts: The root has a clove-like smell and was widely used in herbal medicine as well as to flavour ale and as an insect repellent. Its flowers are a good source…

“Targeted agri-environment schemes deliver biodiversity, flood risk and water quality benefit” The new DEFRA team is facing several pressing issues, most urgently what will happen to farm subsidies and agri-environment schemes following Brexit. DEFRA secretary of state Andrea Leadsom has publicly stated her support for country sports, but her new role has alarmed environmentalists, due in part to her previous climate change scepticism. Her statement on farm subsidies, that cash for farmers should continue “in the short- term while we think about what makes sense”, has also led to uncertainty about her long-term subsidy plans. Last week, Mrs Leadsom was joined on the DEFRA team by Therese Coffey MP, who has represented the constituency of Suffolk Coastal since 2010, as department undersecretary responsible for water and flooding. Also new to…

The National Farmers Union (NFU) has lodged a complaint with Trading Standards over the use of “fake” farm branding by retailers on some food products. The decision follows concerns from NFU members that such labels could lead them to buy an imported product that they believed was British made. One retailer singled out was Tesco, which sells products under the banners of “Woodside Farms” and “Boswell Farms”. NFU president Meurig Raymond said: “I have spoken to senior management at Tesco to highlight our members’ concerns about the use of these fake farm brands. I urge retailers to consider the results of our survey, which show that mixing imported product with British product under the same fictional farm name can be misleading. “British farming is proud of its high standards and…

1-3 AU GUST LAPORTE CHALLENGE TROPHY 100 CLAYSHOOT Royal Berkshire Shooting School, Pangbourne, Berkshire Tel 01491 672900 5 AU GUST HOLT’S AUCTIONEERS ANNUAL CLAY DAY Sandringham estate, Norfolk Tel 01485 542822 5 -7 AU GUST THE 42ND ANNUAL GLOUCESTERSHIRE VINTAGE & COUNTRY EXTRAVAGANZA South Cerney Airfield, Cirencester, Gloucestershire Tel 01453 890891 1 3-14 AU GUST LOWTHER SHOW Lowther estate, Penrith, Cumbria Tel 01889 563232 26 AU GUST THE CLAY SHOOTING DTL CLASSIC CHAMPIONSHIP Bywell Shooting Ground, Felton, Northumberland Tel 01670 787827 27-2 8 AU GUST IRISH GAME & COUNTRY FAIR Birr Castle, Co Offaly Tel 00353 05791 21818…

Scottish gamekeepers are reporting an increase in curlew sightings on grouse moors after launching a concerted effort to conserve the endangered wading bird, supported by the Gift of Grouse campaign. The population of curlew has declined in Scotland in recent years due to a loss of suitable breeding habitats as a result of more intensive agricultural methods, climate change and predation. But conservation efforts by keepers, such as creating suitable breeding habitats through heather burning, has benefited the birds. Leslie George, headkeeper at Candacraig estates, said: “There is also evidence of a high number of returning breeding pairs, after wader migration, who have shown success at raising their young in the optimum moorland habitat. “This has been created over the years as a result of muirburn and carefully planned predator…

HISTORIC SPRINGERS IN ANGLESEY I very much enjoyed reading the Vintage Times piece on the merits of the English springer spaniel by Peter Moxon (ESSence of a good allrounde , 13 July), which brought back memories of the late 1970s when we made our home in a small village in south-west Anglesey. My wife and I, as newcomers to the area, were befriended by an elderly lady who had been housekeeper to the late Selwyn Jones in the 1940s and 1950s. Among her possessions was a large silver cup that had a miniature ceramic plate on the front showing a springer spaniel questing. It had pride of place in the front parlour, and was presumably one of the championships that he won. I believe that the dog mentioned in the…

“When wild mallard mingle with the reared birds, they inspire them with height and pace” Apotpourri of country thoughts and rural matters this week and no mention, I promise, of Jeremy Corbyn nor Brexit. Indeed, the weather, that perennial topic of interest to the average Briton, has dominated my West Country patch: occasional beams of sunshine, relentless bouts of rain, and cold days and nights seem to have been the pattern since the spring, a climatic chequerboard that is not proving beneficial to our small DIY shoot nor to wildlife. This year, a neighbourly farmer allowed us to install a second covercrop on his land, sited to flush birds over a steep slope leading down to our only wood and the release pen. The ground had not been ploughed nor…

“Red calves have been seen from May to as late as the second week of October” July is the month when the stalking year really begins to open out, producing ever-increasing roe activity as a precursor to the forthcoming rut, as well as the opening, in Scotland at least, of the stags, both red and sika. The males of the various species seem to have largely benefited from the spring weather, which was generally kind. As a result, many head stalkers and deer managers are positive, even enthusiastic, about the condition that animals have achieved and the portents this offers for the stag season proper and the roe rut. July is also a critical month for the females and their new young. Five of our six established species have a…

The official opening of the Sportarm at Lady’s Wood gunroom took place in June and was attended by around 50 invited guests. There was a great deal of interest in the new AYA English Game gun and the ribless Perazzi. Guests were able not only to handle the guns in the shop, but also to shoot them on the clay ground. I had the privilege of testing the ribless Perazzi over-and-under on the high tower under the scrutiny of Bob Taylor, an instructor at Lady’s Wood. I missed the first six clays whirling off the tower at 116ft but then, having been told to double my lead, hit the next two. I usually shoot with a side-by-side but found this over-and-under easy to handle and a delight to use.…

Tracing Ireland’s red deer STALKING Q I stalk deer in Ireland on both sides of the border, and have done so for many years. A friend recently forwarded to me a social media post that referred to a record Irish red deer that was classed as Cervus elaphus hibernicus . Surely this is not correct? I thought that there were only two types of red deer in Ireland. Is this the case, and if not when did this third one get identified? A As far as red deer go there are two subspecies found in Britain and Ireland: Cervus elaphus scoticus, the native animal, and Cervus elaphus hippelaphus. There is no subspecies of Cervus elaphus classified as hibernicus. The red deer found in Ireland seem to have…

On a warm July afternoon, the gentle buzz of insects in an orchard ought to be accompanied by a sharp “snap” as the bill of a spotted flycatcher closes. Sadly, only about 36,000 pairs of this delightful species arrive back in the United Kingdom each spring, compared with over 300,000 pairs 50 years ago. This delicate brown bird lives up to its name, launching itself from the outer twigs of trees and catching flies and other insects. Though the spotted flycatcher is a woodland species, pairs can also be found in large, mature gardens, perhaps building their nests in climbing plants such as Virginia creeper, or on ledges in porches. The archetypal photograph of this summer migrant is of a female peering out of a shallow nest cup, in full…

“You could give your cat vegan food and supplements, but would that stop it from hunting? Would it hell” There are serious discussions in some circles about the feasibility of breeding vegan domestic cats that don’t hunt cute critters. I am not sure whether the intention is that these PC pussies would hunt parsnips instead of robins, or whether they would simply not hunt anything at all. Either way, should such a hellish creature still be called a cat? Those who wish to impose a vegetarian diet on their carnivorous pets — sorry, I mean “companion animals” — are motivated by their own abhorrence of the horrors of the abattoir and the factory farm. They do not wish to support the meat industry by feeding their darling moggies on commercial…

“I’m absolutely delighted to be working with BASC. I’ve been shooting since I was a boy and it’s a huge part of my life. Overseeing BASC’s training courses is a big responsibility and one that I look forward to.” Olympic skeet shooter Richard Fussell (left ) is the new training and development officer at BASC. 32 The number of handlers that have now qualified for the Chudleys Gundog Championship final at the Midland Game Fair. The last opportunity to qualify is Lowther Show, which is being held on the weekend of 13-14 August at Lowther in Cumbria.…

The RSPB has revealed the number of predators it killed on its reserves between April 2014 and August 2015. The charity killed 412 foxes across 28 of its reserves and 297 carrion and hooded crows across six reserves in this period, in order to protect ground-nesting birds. It also killed a number of deer in order to restore woodland, reedbed and heathland, including 523 red deer on eight reserves; 427 roe deer across eight reserves; 128 sika deer across two reserves; 23 fallow deer across four reserves and 47 muntjac across three reserves. The wildlife organisation generally prefers to install anti-predator fences, but will employ lethal control measures to protect threatened species when it feels the decision is justified. The statistics were made public in a blog post titled The…

 A revised set of amendments to the EU Firearms Directive has been drafted, removing some of those proposals that had been criticised as unnecessary restrictions on lawful gun owners. “A huge debt of thanks is owed by the shooting community to Vicky Ford MEP” Following the terrorist attacks in Paris last year, the European Commission brought forward plans to tighten gun laws, including a ban on semi-automatic .22 rimfires and new age limitations, despite a lack of support from MEPs (News, 20 April). Vicky Ford MEP chaired the Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee (IMCO) as it steered through revisions to the proposed Firearms Directive amendments. Thanks to her work, and that of the committee, .22 rimfires, which are widely used for pest control in the UK, will no longer…

Scotland’s young keeper of the year named Callum Low of the Invermark estate in the Angus Glens has been named Scotland’s 2016 Young Gamekeeper of the Year by the Scottish Gamekeepers Association. The 20-year-old beat keeper from Abroath (pictured left) saw off tough competition from across the country to land the prestigious accolade. Mr Low commented: “It is a real honour for any young gamekeeper in Scotland to achieve this recognition. Gamekeeping is not just a career, it is a way of life. It is a major commitment and you have to make sacrifices to give it the care it requires ” NRW chief questions benefits of shooting Speaking at last week’s Royal Welsh Show, Dr Emyr Roberts, chief executive of Natural Resources Wales (NRW), drew attention to the environmental…

Sally Elliot of the Tullybeagle estate in Perthshire was named the Gamekeepers’ Welfare Trust’s (GWT) 2016 Game Bird of the Year at the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust’s Game Fair in Perthshire earlier this month. Sally was presented with the Rose Bowl and a gilet donated by game supplier Game & Country, the main sponsor of the award. The award was devised by Lady Scott, a GWT trustee, to recognise the extensive support given by the wives, partners, daughters or female friends of gamekeepers across the UK. John Havens, laird of Tullybeagles, said: “Through Sally’s devoted care of ponds, hedges, grassy wet bits and arable edges, our wader population has exploded from basically a handful of curlew, plovers and oystercatchers in total to at least two dozen curlews, the same…

I am a wildfowler living by an estuary and marshes, and most days have the pleasure of walking my dogs in the area. When necessary I cull mink and foxes, and crows are kept under control. I keep the area litter-free. It’s a place I love. There is a good population of water voles and a wide variety of wildlife, including marsh harriers and seals. Recently there was an open weekend on a small island in the estuary, owned by the National Trust and only accessible by a tidal causeway. On the Friday evening, I was concerned to see a queue of cars waiting for the tide to drop on the causeway, as I knew of two oystercatchers’ nests nearby, and the parent birds were flying around in alarm. I…

“We aim to receive our poults as early in the morning as possible so that I can unload them before it gets too hot” Along with every other gamekeeper in the UK, I pray for fine weather at this time of year. Warm, dry conditions make the job a lot easier, irrespective of whether you are taking delivery of pheasant poults or managing a wild bird shoot. But with all the hard work put into predator control and habitat management over the past few months, I can’t help holding my breath whenever a torrential downpour rolls its way across the shoot. That said, the weather is its own master and beyond my control, but those elements that are within my power — such as release pens and the rides cut…

The Scottish Game Fair at Scone Palace (1-3 July) produced more than its fair share of malformed trophies. From multi-pointed heads to split beams, there was no shortage for the judging team led by Alisdair Troup to evaluate. Joined on the Saturday of the fair by Larry Taaffe, a senior international judge from Ireland, the team scored roe trophies up to 170 CIC points, as well as sika, muntjac and Scottish red. As far as Scotland goes, early indications point to a number of very big heads being grassed, with late April and early May having been notable. As ever, 90 days’ drying time is required before a formal evaluation can take place under the CIC rules, and two experienced stalkers said that they had been disappointed by the weight…

I am looking at a photograph, now browned with age, of my friend of the distant past, Alan Savory. An ardent wildfowler, game Shot, pike fisherman and naturalist, Alan — in the words of Bertie Wooster — was an all-round good egg. He was also a talented writer, contributing regularly to Shooting Times, and the author of five books, the first of which, Norfolk Fowler, was published in 1953. Reissued by Boydell Press in 1973 (ISBN 0851150292) in a splendid edition, it was a delightful evocation of the county he loved, and the sport it offered. Born in 1908, in the late Edwardian period and brought up among the marshes and broads of East Norfolk, Alan wrote: “In that country of luminous landscapes and wide horizons where the wind runs…

“[Fagnus] was granted seven Belgian patents relating to revolvers during the late 19th century” I am officially an Old Geezer, having turned 60 in April. One of the nicest presents that greeted my birthday was a rare 11mm (.44in) Belgian revolver from a dealer friend. It was made by one Alexandre Fagnus of Liège. (I am not proficient in French, but I understand that his name is pronounced “Fan-Yu”). Anyhow, Monsieur Fagnus was clearly an ingenious man as he was granted seven Belgian patents relating to revolvers during the late 19th century. Fagnus’ firm moved about in Liège during its existence from 1863. Originally at 9, Rue Des Celestins, it was at 19, Rue Mahin and also 20b, Rue Chéri in 1880. In 1886 it had relocated to Rue Jolivet…

HOW DO YOU TEACH a Labrador to bark? It was a particularly difficult challenge for Steve Polley, because for years he has insisted that his dogs are totally silent when working, with not so much as a whine or whimper. But here he was with a black Labrador of impeccable trialling stock, trying to get it to do something that didn’t come naturally. It was, he recalls, the hardest thing he had to do when training his first fire-service rescue dog eight years ago. Steve is known in the world of trialling as a leading handler — he has three field trial champions in his kennels — and also as a judge; he judged last season’s retriever championship. He has worked in the fire service all his life, but it…

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 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, Pinehurst…