Innholdsfortegnelse for 01-Jul-2020 i Shooting Times & Country

The National Gamekeepers’ Organisation (NGO) has launched a blog to collect evidence of the damage caused by predatory birds on protected sites such as SSSIs in England due to a lack of licences. Despite serious damage to livestock and birds, Natural England has granted just 6% of applications for licences to control birds such as crows and gulls on protected sites in England. Now the NGO has begun publishing photos and videos taken by its members that show the scale and severity of the problems they face. Liam Bell, chairman of the NGO, said: “We are asking Defra to take back control of all wildlife licensing and to make it work. Already [Environment Secretary] George Eustice has responded by extending the main General Licences saying, ‘It is vital that we…

As coronavirus cases continue to fall and lockdowns across the UK are progressively eased, hopes are rising for a return to shooting on 12 August when the grouse and snipe seasons reopen. Small-scale, local walked-up shooting is now expected to be able to go ahead with relatively few problems as the five-mile and two-metre rules are eased. However, driven shooting and larger scale walked-up shooting will require further steps. In a letter to the environment minister, shooting organisations set out the measures that would be needed to allow a full shooting season to take place. These included increasing the group size for outdoor activities from six persons to 12 or more; allowing group recreation on private land, and allowing overnight hotel stays. To enable overseas Guns to take part in…

“Having been denied access to fieldsports, we’re emerging from coronavirus with an ambitious ‘seize the day’ attitude” Lockdown has been a time for daydreaming. Trapped indoors for days on end and confined to barracks during a beautiful spring, thoughts have now begun to return towards sporting ambitions. A friend in Yorkshire has nurtured a lifelong ambition to cast a fly into the Hampshire chalkstreams. He has been postponing the trip for a decade, but the compression of lockdown has been released in a sudden surge of decisive action. He has vowed that 2020 will be the year it comes together. Likewise, a colleague in Wales is emerging from the crisis with a burning ambition to bag his first grouse. Having been denied all access to fieldsports, we’re emerging from coronavirus…

Regular readers will know that I’ve confessed to some fairly unimpressive shots-to-kill ratios of late. My game diary shows that in 13 outings since March I’m averaging 19 birds for 46 empty cartridges per outing. Put another way: 41%. Or phrased another way: pretty embarrassing. None of us would argue that shooting is only about pulling the trigger and hitting the target. Fieldcraft, camaraderie, conservation and crop protection, of course, are all much more important. But if I’m privileged enough to be published alongside the likes of Will Garfit and Tom Payne, I think I really ought to aspire to figures more like their percentages at the wily woody. I’m sure they don’t miss six out of every 10 birds. So last week I headed back to school with the…

If all the reports which reach me are accurate, rabbits are multiplying significantly in widely separated places. There is even a possibility that they may yet defeat every official move to keep them under rigid control. Rabbits represent hard work, worry, sport, and a considerable amount of cash. At this time of the year when the earliest young rabbits are large enough to be exploited with advantage, the keeper may begin to snare them for the market. There is a good sale for these tender conies. They resemble chicken, if cooked skillfully. Many a keeper “doing for himself” in a bothy has boiled them for a limited spell, then, finished off the meat in a frying pan with onions. This makes an excellent meal, and almost justifies the rabbit’s position…

“In the long history of clubs operating on the estuary, we have never faced such a threat” Wildfowlers in two of the sport’s most important heartlands may be unable to shoot because long-standing ‘consents’, which allow sustainable wildfowling on European protected sites, have not been renewed by Natural England. One of the refused consents covers areas of the Humber Estuary and the other covers part of Morecambe Bay. On Morecambe Bay the refusal arises from a complex problem regarding ‘in combination assessments’. These assessments, which Natural England says it is obliged to conduct, look at an individual wildfowling consent in combination with other consents in the same area. However, Natural England has issued a mixture of time-limited and indefinite consents to different clubs, and claims it cannot now review the…

Scientists have found that the harmful impact of tree planting on ground-nesting birds lasts long after trees have been felled. The scientists examined the effect of tree planting on the Flow Country in the far north of Scotland where previous studies had found significant reductions in wading birds breeding within 700m of forestry plantations. Ornithologist Graham Appleton, who writes the popular WaderTales blog, said: “When trees are planted in open habitats that support breeding waders, numbers usually decline pretty quickly. Trees not only directly remove once-occupied habitat, they are also thought to attract predators, by providing somewhere to hide.” In order to work out what was happening to the birds they counted mammal faeces and worked out which species it belonged to. This allowed them to see which mammals were…

There has been a lot of concern expressed over the lack of swallows this year due, it is believed, to a freak storm in the Mediterranean in April, which caused the deaths of hundreds of birds on their journey north from Africa. For many of us, the first sight of a returning swallow is a sign that summer is round the corner. In my little pocket of southeast London, we don’t see many swallows but there is a surprising number of birds that appear to like this area. There are huge numbers of chatty parakeets that seem perfectly happy to colonise our streets but are not welcomed by everyone due to the noise and mess they make. We have a resident robin that visits every day, innumerable LBJs — little…

By the first week of Tune, County Kerry is normally standing-room-only, bursting at the seams with visitors from all over the world keen to experience the picturesque jewel in the tourism crown of southwest Ireland. This year, of course, everything was different. Thankfully, one long-distance visitor was expected to be undeterred. From the start of Tune, Ireland’s coastline plays host to the grilse run as the salmon return to these shores after overwintering in the North Atlantic and make their way back to their birthplace. This annual miracle happens right on my doorstep. Lough Currane, nestled between the coastal village of Waterville on Ballinskelligs Bay and the Dunkerron mountains of the Iveragh Pensinsula, provides a stunning backdrop for a run of both spring salmon and grilse and was considered, until…

When a member of hunt staff drops round with a couple of hound puppies for a walk, you experience something that real ale drinkers are familiar with. Initially you are struck by the beautiful colour and endearing looks. You note a zesty tang and earthy aroma. Admiringly, you stand back to take in this aesthetic of classical Britishness. A warm fuzzy glow envelopes you. However after a dozen pints, or weeks in the case of hound puppies, you realise your house and everything in it is either destroyed or smeared in reeking matter. Unlikely trophy objects litter the place. When you hand back your puppies, like the felt-mouthed ale drinker the morning after, you vow “never again”. You know, of course, this is a lie. You will happily repeat the…

In recent years, seemingly exacerbated by the rise of social media, it has become very apparent that many pigeon shooters have become obsessed with bag sizes and numbers shot at the end of a day. There seems to be confusion as to what pigeon shooting is ultimately all about, the reasons we need to control such a formidable agricultural pest and the skill it takes to do so. The number of birds shot does not highlight the skill of a pigeon shooter in any way. This, you may find, is a confusing statement but let me explain. It takes more skill to kill a bag of pigeons when you have limited numbers than it does to kill hundreds when you have thousands of birds coming over you. Having thousands of…

IT’S EXACTLY 20 YEARS ago since I started writing Gundogs. I was asked to pen this column by Mark Hedges, the millennium editor of Shooting Times, who gave me a wide brief. “Write about anything and everything to do with gundogs, but do mention your own dogs. That might irritate some readers, but many like to read about dogs they think they know.” Since then I have written 1,040 columns, totalling about 1.3 million words. Most pieces have been illustrated with my own photographs, so well over 3,000 of my pictures have appeared. For every one published I’ve probably taken at least 20, so that’s many thousands of clicks of the shutter. Photography has changed a lot in 20 years. In 2000, I was still using a Nikon loaded with…

Moorland managers are celebrating the success of 12 hen harrier nests on managed moorland in England. These include six nests in Lancashire, four nests in Cumbria and two in Yorkshire. This equals the record set in 2019 when 12 nests fledged 47 chicks, which is an increase of 100% since 2015. Amanda Anderson, director of the Moorland Association, said: “This is very encouraging news and further evidence that birds of prey are welcome on land managed for grouse shooting by our members. “We obviously have to wait to see how many of the chicks fledge successfully, but the signs are promising that 2020 will be another good year for hen harrier breeding. It is heartening to see the bird doing better in the north of England with the help of…

Campaign group Wild Justice has been granted permission for a judicial review of gamebird releases on and around protected sites in England. “We should be under no illusion that this is another excuse for an attack on shooting” The group had previously asked for the case to be fast-tracked in an effort to block releases due to take place this summer. However its request was denied and the case will now be heard by the end of October, rather than in the summer. Despite the group’s claims that its challenge was the “annual release of 50 million-plus nonnative gamebirds” the majority of gamebird releases do not take place on or around protected sites and will be unaffected. BASC, the Countryside Alliance, the Game Farmers’ Association and the National Gamekeepers’ Organisation…

A couple of years ago I went to photograph dogs on a local shoot. All but one of the Guns arrived in a Range Rover, Discovery or similar modern 4x4: the one exception drove up in a Series I Land Rover. It was a 1958 SWB model, and had been beautifully restored. It looked tiny when parked alongside the latest crop of off-roaders, and I was fascinated to see its owner open the back door to reveal a handsome pair of flatcoated retrievers. While working flatcoats may not be rarities, they are sufficiently unusual to be noteworthy. I later chatted to the Land Rover man, who told me that he had owned his machine for more than 30 years and had restored it himself. He went on say that he…

“It can handle a bump but, given the price, I wasn’t as harsh with it as I could’ve been” Mercedes launched the G-Class — also known as the G-Wagen — in 1979, and it’s the longest-running line out of Stuttgart. Synonymous with oligarchs and footballers, the G-Wagen is a ‘glitzy’ 4x4, but is there a capable vehicle beneath? Firstly, whatever you do, don’t scratch it or kerb it. Its silhouette is true to its heritage, easily definable as a G-Wagen. We are testing a 350d AMG Line, which in G-Wagen terms is middle of the road. Walking around it, it doesn’t look over the top, despite the 20in wheels. It is 121mm wider and 53mm longer than the previous version. It’s not winning any awards for aerodynamics, but I’m fond…

It is a happy coincidence that the numbers of rats around the farms that I frequent with my air rifle tend to dip quite significantly during the warmer months. As the longer, warmer days bring an increase in natural food and shelter, the rodents that cause problems around the yard during the cold season gradually disperse and move back onto the open countryside. This is good news for farmers and also for me because, as much as I enjoy sniping rats, targeting nocturnal rodents is not so appealing when night doesn’t begin to close in until after 10pm. After such a late start, sessions don’t usually draw to a close until well into the small hours, and that can be problematic when work necessitates an early start. Rats do occasionally…

The re-opening of Melton Mowbray Market and one of their first pig sales of the year coincided with Brian, the shepherd at Burghley, taking a load of cull ewes to sell. He kindly offered to buy some pigs for me while he was there and as he set off, I imagined him returning with two or three smart little Gloucester Old Spot or a similar native breed piglets. When he arrived back at my house midmorning, though, he had six Large Whites in the trailer. It transpired that he had gone head- to-head in a bidding match with a six-year- old girl for the one lot of Gloucester Old Spots in the day’s auction. On seeing her bottom lip start to quiver when the price reached £30 a piglet, he…