Innholdsfortegnelse for 15-Jan-2020 i Shooting Times & Country

It probably hasn’t escaped you that we are currently in the throes of so-called veganuary. I hope I’m not about to offend any vegan readers but the whole thing looks like a bit of a corporate con. Last weekend I even came across a shop selling ‘vegan pork’ and ‘vegan chicken’. Your guess is as good as mine. Last Tuly, while wandering round a wheat field picking pigeons I’d been decoying, I was suddenly struck by how many vegan-friendly sandwiches the crop might end up in. ‘Vegan-friendly’ — except two of us had killed 400 pigeons because the pesky birds were making serious inroads into the farmer’s profits. By the time you take into account pesticides, deer management and the creatures killed by farm machinery, I would wager that it’s…

Gene editing could eradicate greys Scientists are examining the possibility of using gene-editing techniques to eradicate grey squirrels. The plan would use genetically altered male squirrels containing a ‘gene drive’ that would spread a gene for infertility throughout the grey squirrel population. The innovative idea for squirrel eradication is being developed by scientists at the Roslin Institute, where Dolly the Sheep was cloned. As well as causing considerable damage to trees, grey squirrels are believed to be responsible for the loss of native red squirrels from large parts of the UK. New chairman for Scottish Land Mark Tennant has been appointed chairman designate by Scottish Land & Estates (SLE). Mr Tennant has been a member of the organisation’s Highland committee twice, as well as vice-chairman (policy) since 2018. He said:…

East Anglia bulges out into the North Sea like a cook’s backside. Norfolk and Suffolk are not places that the motorist passes through. You do not merely happen upon East Anglia by taking the wrong exit on a motorway — we don’t have any motorways. Our isolation leads to jokes made at our expense. I frequently find strangers staring intently at my hands upon introduction, doubtless hoping to glimpse our much-vaunted webbed digits. East Anglia is a place forgotten, or gently ridiculed, by the rest of the country. While hominid visitors may shun us, not so the avian. Deadly Darren and I decided to take a day off and overdose on wildfowling. Our morning flight was spent in pursuit of pink-footed geese. We set up our hide at 5.30am against…

IT WILL COME AS NO SURPRISE that the A6 Allroad in all its elegance comes at a bit of a premium. Brace yourself — the basic on-the-road price for the bottom-of-the-range 45 TDI is £54,555. The 50 TDI is £57,570 but there were a few ‘side orders’ on this model, and they bump the price up to £68,885. I know it’s a lot of money but you are almost getting two cars for the price of one. You could bring the price down — the fancy sunroof is just under £2,000, the leather pack is £1,000, the 20in wheels are £2,200, while the upgraded stereo and technology pack add another £3,395 to the price. Mudflaps at £250 are an option probably worth having. However, it’s still cheaper than a Range…

I’ve always had a sneaking suspicion that inside many a cavalier King Charles spaniel there’s a cocker spaniel trying to get out. So I wasn’t really surprised when I read the following story sent to me by Debbie Grounds in response for my request for stories of non-gundog breeds that have aspired to be proper gundogs. “We recently lost Oscar, our black-and-tan cavalier King Charles spaniel,” she wrote. “Oscar had a gentle and sweet personality and had been well trained to Kennel Club gold level in obedience but had received no gundog training. “I was living on the North York Moors during the 2011 to 2012 pheasant season and while out beating was encouraged to bring my dog along. I duly arrived the following day with Oscar, at which point…

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 TONY BUCKWELL Veterinary surgeon with a special interest in gundogs TOM PAYNE Professional shooting instructor and avid pigeon shooter JEREMY HUNT Runs Fenway Labradors and a professional gundog trainer TIM MADDAMS Former head chef at River Cottage and runs a shoot in Devon SIMON WHITEHEAD Author, professional ferreter and rabbit controller IAIN WATSON Keen stalker and senior CIC international trophy judge Contact the team Email: stanswers@ti-media.com By post: Shooting Times, Pinehurst 2, Farnborough Business Park, Hants GU14 7BF…

These days plaudits such as ‘hero’ and ‘legend’ are applied to individuals so patently undeserving of such epithets that the words have become nigh on meaningless. For the writer, in particular, this state of affairs is vexatious. I met a gamekeeper this month called David Carter and I have been forced to scour the thesaurus to find a suitable word that does the man justice. He has succeeded in reaching the top of his profession while maintaining the admiration, regard and genuine affection of employers, Guns and peers alike. However, David, who has been the headkeeper at Castle Ashby since 1973, turns 81 in March and he has finally decided to retire. Sadly, this is the end of an era, for more than one reason. Not only will this be…

RESPOND Defra’s consultation on trophy hunting is closing on 25 January. Ideas under consideration include a ban on the import and export of all hunting trophies. Shooting organisations are calling on members to respond opposing option three, which would ban all trophy imports and exports, and to back option four, which would leave the situation unchanged. DOG A regular worming schedule is important to maintain the health of your dogs. The Kennel Club recommends that dogs are wormed at least every three months. If you simply cannot get your dog to eat a worming tablet, speak to your vet about topical treatments or chewable dog-biscuit wormers.…

DON’T DUMP BIRDS Why do people shoot pheasants then dump two brace in a green recycling bag like so much rubbish? The shooting community can do with all the help it can get, and this does no good at all. It is not the first time my friend and I, out walking our dogs, have come across this along one of the roads in the Wenvoe area. We have passed word around, including to one of the local gamekeepers, who was horrified. What a waste of good food. Chris Bunston-Croome, Glamorgan FRIENDS LIKE THESE I was horrified to read about the man who attacked a van carrying hunt saboteurs with the corpse of a fox (Letters, 8 January). The incident happened on Boxing Day after a meet of the Badsworth…

Shortly before Christmas, I drove for a couple of hours to a country pub in Leicestershire to meet my eldest son and his family for lunch. The pub was good, the food was excellent, and the pre-Christmas meet-up and present swap went as planned. What has stuck in my mind most about our trip, though, is the people in the pub. We were having a drink and looking at menus when a rather charming, unassuming gentleman — who had, I assumed, been retired for a number of years — started a conversation. After a couple of generic ice-breaker questions, he went straight into politics, game shooting and the hunting ban – to be expected in rural Leicestershire and within a stone’s throw of a hunt kennel. His passion for rural…

Wild duck is one of those meats that can be challenging to cook. I have a few rules I tend to stick to — either cook it fast and rest or simply use the low and slow method. This recipe is the latter. Crispy duck pancakes are one of my all-time takeaway guilty pleasures. Wild duck is complemented by sweetness so the home-made plum sauce really does marry well. There are many species of duck but for this I use mallard because it has more meat yield than, say, teal or wigeon. ‘Wild’ mallard can come in two forms; game-reared ducks eat well, whereas truly wild duck that are shot on estuaries, marshes and various waterways can have a slightly fishy taste due to their diet. I place the truly…

Latin name: Auricularia auricula-judae Common name: Wood ear Other names: Jelly ear, Judas’s ear How to spot it and where to find it: This is a common fungus that grows throughout the winter and favours dead elder trees and fallen branches, though it can be found on other decaying hardwoods. The fruiting body is not huge, from 3cm to 8cm, but is curved and wavy and really does resemble a human ear. They are brown to dark brown with a slippery, jelly-like texture and covered with a fine down. Interesting facts: The ‘judae’ part of this mushroom’s name comes from the belief that Judas Iscariot hanged himself from an elder in shame after betraying Jesus Christ. The legend, which dates back more than 400 years, suggests that the ‘ears’ that…

18-19 JANUARY LADIES’ INTRODUCTION TO WILDFOWLING WEEKEND Latchingdon, Essex events.basc.org.uk/ events 20 JANUARY WALES LADIES’ GAME DAY Coed Coch, Dolwen, North Wales po.st/Walesladies 31 JANUARY DERBYSHIRE REALLY WILD DINNER & AUCTION Thornbridge Hall, Longstone Lane, Bakewell, Derbyshire gwct.org.uk/events 31 JANUARY BASIC METALLIC CARTRIDGE RELOADING Baronscourt estate, Tyrone po.st/metalreload 7 FEBRUARY GWCT ESSEX SPORTING BALL Braxted Park estate, Witham, Essex georgejones@ newneyhall.com 19 FEBRUARY PREDATION CONTROL LAW & BEST PRACTICE COURSE Near Fakenham, Norfolk gwct.org.uk/events…

I returned home from our annual Boxing Day foray to witness the splendid spectacle of our local hunt being applauded and cheered by 1,000-plus lovers of the countryside. As usual, our morning was completed by a quick visit to our local pub for a swift drink before coming home for lunch. It is a ritual enjoyed by tens of thousands of good people all over the land. However, this quick visit to the pub was unusual due to the presence of 10 of the local saboteurs sitting rather dejectedly in the corner, minus balaclavas. I bade them all season’s greetings and received a collective grunt in return. I decided to use the situation to attempt some proactive dialogue with them, and their response was eyeopening to say the least. Instead…

The question “What’s that one then?” should never be heard from the person who shot a bird, so knowing what the odd unusual duck looks and sounds like is a real benefit at flight. So, too, is knowing what to expect, so you don’t pass up an opportunity that might just have been the chance of a lifetime to shoot something different and delicious. For every wildfowler, knowing our nine legal quarry ducks inside out is not just desirable — but well nigh essential to getting the most from our wonderful sport. WIGEON Most flightpond shooters will never see one and if your pool is surrounded by trees, you can effectively forget them. Wigeon, whether inland or on the coast, are primarily grazers, so open pools, splashes of floodwater and…

Deer management, an activity undertaken quietly and in solitude, enjoyed — or perhaps more accurately endured — a brief moment of national attention here in Ireland. An incident in Kerry raised questions regarding the management of red deer in the county. In late October a red stag was observed by a tour group who had assembled to watch the rut of the wild red deer in parkland close to Killarney. Evidently unwell, the stag had deformed antlers and a pronounced loss of co-ordination in its hindquarters. Numerous photos were taken and social media was soon alight with wild speculation about a mystery disease affecting the wild deer. The press picked up the story and the local paper ran a front-page photo of the stag, leading with the emotive headline ‘Deer…

My dog’s split personality GUNDOG TRAINING Q I have never trained a Labrador before so to begin with I spent a lot of time doing my homework in the hope of finding a level-headed puppy that would suit my inexperience as a trainer. My bitch is now 14 months old and, though she is a delightful member of the family, she can be defiant. When I tackle these issues she shows she is not really a ‘toughie’ and can become sensitive and unresponsive. Will I ever get anywhere with this split personality? A This isn’t an uncommon situation but do not give up. If you keep your cool you will make progress. If she is good in other ways it’s simply a case of finding the right approach to bring…

1 Swazi Severn top RRP: £150 Swazi.nz Features on this jacket include an innovative and sizeable binocular pocket and zipped side-pockets for keeping hands warm. Made in New Zealand, the Severn is designed to be light, compact, breathable and totally windproof. 2 Ptarmigan Ultralight overtrousers RRP £149.95 Schoffelcountry.com These overtrousers offer you the best protection when searching through woods for that last cock pheasant or fleeing squirrel. They are made from ripstop fabric, so are durable, and are 100 per cent windproof, waterproof and breathable. They also handily pack away into a pocket if the rain stops . Available in sizes XS-3XL. 3 Country shirt in beige and green check RRP: £49.95 Oxfordshirt.co.uk You can never have enough of these shirts as they are useful in all…

It has often been said that the best defence of shooting is the financial contribution it makes. But when it comes to mobilising political action, cold financial considerations don’t always trump hot emotional ones. Public opinion is a fierce beast and elected legislators are not known for their courage. The money that shooting injects into practical conservation and the rural economy is important. The various organisations have done a good job in quantifying and communicating this. But we cannot rely on the financial argument alone, for the simple reason that the future of shooting will be shaped by politics, not money. And when push comes to shove, emotion trumps money. If we rely too much on financial arguments, without addressing the emotional ones, we could be in trouble. We saw…