Innholdsfortegnelse for 09-May-2018 i Shooting Times & Country

Last week I went to a Sardinian restaurant in Surrey. As we ordered wine, I told the Welshman sitting across from me that when I was 17, I spent a summer working on a grouse moor in the Angus Glens. “Every day we earned £50 and every night we spent it all at a local pub. I finished the season just as poor as I was when it started, but I learned a huge amount,” I said. “How many people worked on that estate?” he asked. “Thirty at least,” I estimated. He thought for a while and then said: “Let’s say that on average there are 15 people working on every large Scottish grouse moor. Now imagine if the sport was banned. What effect on rural employment would that have?”…

 Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) has granted Perthshire Strathbraan Community Collaboration for Waders a research licence in a bid to control burgeoning raven populations and protect thebreedingtime of wading birds such as curlew, lapwing and plover, which are under increasing pressure from predators. “Flocks of ravens hoover up chicks and eggs at breeding time” The grant comes after more than a year of bird counts and intense discussion. The licence will initially permit the cull of up to 69 ravens in a geographically defined control area and will be adapted each year. SNH has attached conditions to ensure the licence will pose no threat to raven populations, which have risen by 134 per cent in the UK in only two decades. “Farmers and keepers in the community have for a number…

Affordable homes for the countryside A new Government policy — Entry Level Exception Sites — aims to increase the number of affordable homes in rural areas by allowing building on land next to existing settlements. The CLA says the policy could help the countryside to thrive by encouraging more landowners to make appropriate land available. CLA president Tim Breitmeyer said: “Tackling the rural housing crisis is one of the defining challenges of our time. Our villages will not survive if people cannot afford to live in the countryside.” Over £500 raised for Roald Dahl charity Shots at the Royal Berkshire Shooting School’s Easter Bunny Shoots raised £567.90 for Roald Dahl’s Marvellous Children’s Charity. Landmark hunting case awards £57,786 Costs of almost £60,000 have been awarded against the Crown Prosecution Service…

Walk along any beach these days and you will see a lot of plastic waste, including cartridge cases and wads. With the world waking up to this massive problem, we have to show that we are a responsible group who looks after the environment by disposing of our spent cartridges and not dumping them in rivers so that they end up in the sea. Perhaps it is time for cartridge manufacturers to abandon plastic and revert to paper cases and fibre wads. When I started shooting there were no plastic cartridges and I remember the first ones I saw looked like a piece of black alkathene pipe. Having spent a lifetime as a gundealer, I have heard all the arguments on this subject and in my opinion paper wins hands…

“While the safe was in the river, it fell to no council to clean it up; in moving it to the bank, we had become fly-tippers” I waded waist deep through the river Wandle in London, collecting beer cans, plastic bags and other detritus as part of a programme to clean the river. I wondered what Izaak Walton’s 17th-century Piscator would have thought about our impact on his clear rivers filled with fish and salmon runs in their thousands. The river Wandle, rising 11 miles south of Wandsworth, exudes fishing history. A haunt of Lord Nelson, both before he lost his arm and after, it is rumoured to be the place he learned to cast single-handed. The river became synonymous with industry rather than fishing through the industrial revolution. At…

FEEDING THE ALPHA FERRET Now that it is a little warmer, my ferrets’ feeding regime has had to change slightly. Out goes the rabbit-only diet that all my ferrets are fed during the colder weather and in comes my alpha ferret feast diet. I feed the older ferrets this kibble during the warm weather to keep the flies away and to maintain a balanced diet for my recuperating working stock. Feeding dry food in summer makes life easier all round and getting those essential nutrients into the ferrets’ bodies while they are resting and overcoming their seasons keeps them healthy. I feed this ad lib but I keep an eye on the intake, as some hobs will just eat and eat for the sake of it and put on too…

I am relieved to report that my recent article on e-collars (Gundogs, 18 April) didn’t elicit any abusive emails, but it did provide some positive feedback. One reader, Richard, wrote to say that he had a problem with his 22-month-old cocker dog, who was prone to run off as soon as he was let off the lead in an open field. This running off didn’t happen every time but was unpredictable, making it even harder to deal with. After several forays by the spaniel on to main roads Richard tended to keep him on a lead, but each time he thought that the dog was at last steady the spaniel proved him wrong. As a result he wasn’t receiving the training that he should have been given. Finally, in desperation,…

Latin name: Iris pseudacorus Common name: Yellow iris Other names: Daggers, flagon, Jacob’s sword, water skegs, yellow flag How to spot it and where to find it: Mingling with other plants along the water’s edge, the bright flowers of the yellow iris stand out. A tall plant, with long, sword-like leaves, it is found in wet woods and by the edges of ponds, streams and ditches. This perennial loves moist soil and boggy habitat and is often cultivated for garden ponds. The flag-like flowers appear from May to July. Interesting facts: The yellow iris is thought to be the inspiration for the fleur-de-lis, an enduring symbol of heraldry. The 18th century French naturalist Pierre-Augustin Boissier de Sauvages wrote: “This flower looks like our fleur-de-lis… because of its shape: of the…

A very small, short-legged breed from the south-west of Ireland, the Dexter has long been popular as a smallholder’s cow, notable not only for its milk production, but also its beef. Because the carcase is so small, it is ideal for home freezers. It was developed by a Mr Dexter, agent for Lord Hawarden, on Valentia Island in County Kerry: traditionally Dexters were bred by mating Kerry cows to Dexter bulls. First exported to England in the 1880s, a herdbook was opened in 1900. The fashion for breeding these cattle as small as possible has created health problems, and today most breeders opt to produce slightly longer-legged animals, standing between 100cm and 112cm at the withers. Most Dexters are black, though some are dun or red. They are a horned…

“As so often with nature politics, differing opinions are expressed in shouting matches” There is much caterwauling from the usual suspects about the decision by Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) to grant a licence for a five-year trial control of ravens in part of Perthshire to see if waders benefit (see p.8). From the outrage, you’d have thought the slaughter of the firstborn had been announced. Why, exactly, are people getting so shouty about the legal culling of a relatively tiny number of oversized crows? Not that I have anything against crows, you understand. As a boy, I had one as a pet. It proved to be a fascinating, highly intelligent bird and left me with an admiration for the species. And the raven is the great chieftain of the crow…

RESPOND Rural workers are being urged to take part in the 2018 National Rural Crime Survey, which aims to measure the personal, social and economic cost of rural crime and anti-social behaviour across England and Wales. The last survey in 2015 revealed that crime costs rural communities around £800million a year and the National Rural Crime Network produced a series of recommendations at the time. In many areas, the police took steps to improve matters, but three years on, the Network wants to know what has changed. Visit po.st/NRCN by Sunday, 10 June, to complete the survey and share your experience of crime and anti-social behaviour in rural areas. LISTEN In the latest episode of The Voice of the Countryside podcast, produced by the Countryside Alliance, presenters Liam Stokes and…

1 SitPack portable seat From £19.99 www.thefowndry.com A modern take on the classic monopod shooting stick and one of the smallest compact foldable seats you’ll find, the SitPack portable seat collapses smaller than a 500ml water bottle to fit conveniently into your pocket. 2 Orvis Encounter jacket £129 www.orvis.co.uk With this easily packable men’s Encounter waterproof jacket, which folds to fit into a vest pocket or kit bag, you will never leave home unprepared for rain again. The layered fabric provides great protection from wind and water and this breathable jacket also features a fully adjustable hood. 3 William Evans tweed dog coat From £45 www.williamevans.com This dog coat is available in three colours — green, red and brown version pictured — with matching collars and leads to ensure your…

Small farm ponds for conservation/ agriculture are usually considered “permitted development”. However, if you need to move spoil off or infill on to your ground via the public highway, the county planning office must be consulted. If your site is in a designated landscape such as an area of outstanding natural beauty or site of special scientific interest, you would need to consult Natural England, Scottish Natural Heritage or Natural Resources Wales. If your proposed pool is in a designated river floodplain, you would need to consult with the Environment Agency or Scottish Environment Protection Agency if you were planning to build any sort of bund or spread spoil within the floodplain area, as this may affect “flood storage”. Almost any pond will require an abstraction licence for water for…

“The trunks could be cut up and covered in brash to provide cover for the birds” Has it occurred to you that there is an understandable tendency for shoots — be they modest DIY affairs or keepered concerns — to become stuck in their ways? Drives that over the years have proved successful have deteriorated as the cover has grown or changed; release pens, once established, remain in situ, despite the fact that their cover or roosting points have seriously deteriorated. The thought of having to move a pen and build another from scratch can be off-putting. Yet it is of enormous value to stand back and assess a shoot from all angles and, in particular, to obtain a fresh and impartial viewpoint from an experienced outsider. Fresh, new and…

What skills for show gundog? GUNDOGS Q I have recently started to show a Sussex spaniel. I hope that he will be good enough to gain his title in the ring and I would like him to also get his working qualification, the show gundog working certificate (SGWC). He is on the whistle, in that when I blast it he stops, listens to me and comes back — always a good start. Anyway, can you give me a rough outline of what is expected at a minor spaniel breeds show gundog qualifier so that I can get the necessary training in and hopefully do one next winter? A On a SGWC day he will have to hunt, produce game and then retrieve it. He will also have to retrieve a…

12 MAY WEST LONDON SHOOTING SCHOOL Deer Stalking Course Showell Farm, Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire Tel 020 8845 1377 12-13 MAY SPORTFISH READING SHOW Sportfish Game Fishing Centre, Theale, Reading, Berkshire Tel 0118 930 3860 12-13 MAY WHITFIELD ANNUAL CLAY SHOOT Whitfield estate, Hexham, Northumberland Tel 07501 460017 18-20 MAY ROCKINGHAM INTERNATIONAL HORSE TRIALS Rockingham Castle, Leicestershire Tel 01536 770240 19 MAY BASC COUNTRYSIDE CLAY SHOOT Six Mile Bottom estate, Cambridgeshire Tel 01283 810910 20 MAY BENELLI SP’AUTO CHAMPIONSHIPS Southdown Gun Club, West Sussex Tel 01489 579999…

SPORTING DELIGHT Congratulations to whoever came up with the Most sporting sportsman idea, the series inspired by three gentlemen arguing about which is the finest or noblest of the fieldsports in Izaak Walton’s The Compleat Angler. I have enjoyed reading every one, whether the subject is ferreting (Wild and primal joy, 21 February), stalking (Heartbreakingly fine, 28 March) or freshwater duck flighting (A precious privilege, 4 April) and everything in between. Mike Swan’s paean to wildfowling (Salt tang and teal, 11 April) made me long to rush out and buy waders so I too could taste that tang on the foreshore, even though I’d have to wait till September. I no longer ride — due to failing health and fading years — but was almost tempted to throw a saddle…

Saturday, 21 April, was World Curlew Day. Though it was widely publicised on social media and there were radio interviews with curlew enthusiasts and various pieces in both the local and national press, you may still have missed it. The common curlew — not to be confused with the even rarer stone-curlew — is struggling to hold on as a breeding bird in southern England, Northern Ireland and Wales, with the numbers of breeding pairs south of Birmingham estimated to be as low as 300. The reasons for their decline include the draining of bogs, the improvement of grassland, a change in grazing regimes — particularly the move from the making of June/July hay, to the cutting of silage in May — and, of course, increased predation. Schemes and initiatives…

If I am to write about the martin family, I must also mention the swift. They are so in keeping with one another it would be unfair to single one out. Years ago, how many times would we see good numbers of these birds wheeling round in the sky together, no doubt feeding greedily, as they readied themselves for the move south? That picture is no longer a common one and though I have no figures for long-term declines in the numbers of the swallow, swift, house and sand martin, they are considerably well down compared with a couple of generations ago. They have declined for numerous reasons; loss of nesting sites, decline in food supply, insect numbers, and increased losses during the long migration to and from Africa. The…

 THERE IS NOTHING MORE frustrating for the owner of a would-be working gundog than to discover, after months of training, that their dog is gun-shy. It was a recent encounter with a delightful and obedient 22-month-old cocker bitch of excellent breeding that prompted my thoughts on gun-shy dogs. Sadly, this bitch had apparently become agitated and frightened when introduced to gunfire for the first time. Her owner, a keen shooting man, has resigned himself to the fact that she will be a pet, but I suspect that with careful training she could still become a proper gundog. “My gun-shy spaniel was quite prepared to ignore gunfire on a shooting day” Almost all the spaniels I have owned have been wary of loud bangs, and one was quite gun-shy. It was…

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,…