Innholdsfortegnelse for 26-Aug-2020 i Shooting Times & Country

Gamekeepers have hit back at two reports about trapping from the League Against Cruel Sports, saying they were “riddled with fag-packet estimates and wild extrapolations, major confusions over what is legal and what is not and ‘facts’ from discredited papers”. Among the claims made in Calculating Cruelty and Hanged by the Feet Until Dead were that “57,000 killing devices are deployed each day in Scotland, representing the equivalent of over 10,000,000 active trapping and snaring days per year”. Another said “up to a quarter of a million animals are killed each year in an attempt to totally eradicate foxes, stoats, weasels and crows to increase the number of grouse” and that “nearly half of the animals killed are non-target species such as hedgehogs, dippers and mistle thrush”. However, the Scottish…

LLYNFI POLLUTION Further to your story (News, 19 August), the pollution at Afon Llynfi has had a significant and damaging effect on the wildlife that live in its waters. We know that local people care deeply about the river and are very upset about the impact this has had on the fish population. We share that concern and getting to the root of the cause of this incident remains our top priority. From our assessment, it’s clear that there has been a large fish-kill along the Llynfi. Thousands of fish have died as a result of this incident. There has also been a significant effect on invertebrate life in the river. This is not acceptable. We are doing all we can to collect all the evidence to identify the source…

For as long as we humans have hunted wild duck and geese, we have used decoys and calls to attract them within range of a gun, bow or sling, or to lure them into waiting nets. Most species of wildfowl are intensely social birds. They will naturally congregate in large numbers in order to feed or roost. The belief that there are others of their kind gathered on a pond, lake or creek is enough to give passing birds the confidence at least to take a second look, if not to cup their wings, set their paddles and drop in to join the party. So it is no surprise that the skill of being able to call duck and geese is a greatly respected one among fowlers. Stanley Duncan, the…

“A brief scan revealed two geese heading our way. They were surprisingly high for Canadas but the calls were unmistakable” In the dog days of summer, the start of the wildfowling season always feels like it is taking ages to come around, then all of a sudden the nights start drawing in and the fowling grapevine begins to buzz with reports of migratory geese flying across the sky. Despite the first birds often being heard in August, the early season can be a difficult time of year to get under quarry as migrant species tend not to have arrived on our shores in significant numbers. This makes it a perfect time to pursue some of our resident fowl, such as the Canada. Though it is often overlooked by other fowlers,…

I woke up on the morning of the Glorious Twelfth feeling a little morose that I wasn’t up north. However, life isn’t all bad. The woodpigeon has fared well and bred successfully this year, with a good chance of three broods — and even four — coming off one bird. This has been a seriously early harvest. Some farmers around the Home Counties and further south have finished and many farmers in the outlying English counties are not far behind. It’s the same issue with a harvest that happens all at once. With so many ‘restaurant doors’ open, it becomes a struggle to get a grip on managing numbers on farms and estates. I don’t, however, believe that to be the case this year, even though there have been thousands…

The Land Cruiser has been at the forefront of Toyota’s off-road range since 1951 and has proved itself a formidable vehicle in which to cruise the land, be it tarmac, mud or rock. The big beast we’re playing with this month is the Land Cruiser 2.8 diesel long wheelbase LCV Active, which is the slightly higher-specification version. My first impression is that it looks like it will go anywhere. It is stylish, yet has a certain ruggedness about it. The silhouette is somewhat smoother than the original but that doesn’t diminish it. It looks rather smart in the metallic grey, and the six-spoke 17in wheels and blacked-out windows set it off a treat. Nineteen-inch wheels are available as an option. The front view is elegantly beastie with its large front…

YOU DON’T HAVE to have a degree in economics to know that the price of a product invariably reflects supply. However, I don’t think anyone anticipated how the price of puppies has risen this year. A year ago you could still find unregistered English springer puppies advertised for as little as £400 each, or working cockers from top trialling lines for £750. Today you will be hard pushed to find any puppy for less than £1,250, and many are three times that. I used to scan the classified adverts in the back pages of Shooting Times, as it gave me a good idea of the popularity of the various breeds and what people were selling them for. These days you have to look at one of the online sites to…

More than 100 firearm and shotgun owners from south-west England have had their details published on the internet following a data leak. The names, addresses, mobile phone numbers and shotgun and firearm certificate numbers of many of those working on the Wiltshire badger cull were obtained and published on an anti-cull website. The source of the leak is unclear; however, a local source told Shooting Times that a training event for cull contractors was widely rumoured to be the origin of the information. “The police have taken steps to ensure the safety of the members of the public concerned” The data was published on a website linked to Stop the Cull — visitors to the site are directed to Stop the Cull’s Ko-fi page to make donations — an activist…

An activist with a history of attacking shooting has launched a bid to release lynx in Scotland, despite the landowner saying it would not give permission. In 2016 Dr Paul O’Donoghue, who is leading the project, made the extraordinary claim that gamekeepers were planning to shoot people’s pet cats as part of a wildcat conservation programme. Dr O’Donoghue is a director of Lynx UK Trust and of Wilder Britain. In 2018 Lynx UK Trust’s application to release lynx in Kielder Forest was rejected by the Government. Undeterred, the company claimed to have identified the Queen Elizabeth Forest Park near Aberfoyle as a release site. The plan was rejected by Forestry and Land Scotland, which said: “No approach has been made to us to access land for any lynx trial. The…

In response to the article on social media’s role in shooting PR (Let’s not be antisocial, 29 July), can I point out that, while fieldsports enthusiasts can use it as a force for good, quite often the response to criticism, especially from high-profile sources, is far from acceptable. Rather than addressing the claims in a mature and sensible manner, ad hominem attacks and outright denial seem to feature more highly. This does absolutely nothing to promote fieldsports and their participants in a positive light, especially when the responses posted for all to see are often aggressive and barely literate. If we, as a community, are going to use social media to defend our way of life — and we must — doing so properly is the only way forward. A…

Whenever I attend a farm walk organised by the GWCT, I do so with a mixture of emotions. Positive sentiments such as wonderment, revelation and inspiration jostle with less attractive feelings. Frustration and envy largely. This unwarranted green-eyed state is not due to my begrudging the success of others. Far from it. The more conservation-minded farmers and landowners there are the better in my book. These pangs of jealousy arise because the shoots around which we trudge are already at a point of achievement, while at Flea Barn we are merely at the dawn of our environmental endeavours. Successful game and wildlife conservation does not happen in the twinkle of an eye. Patience is an essential characteristic of the conservationist and, while I pride myself on being a pragmatist, I…

People who use airguns to control nocturnal pests such as rats and rabbits are always asking me whether it is worth splashing out on expensive thermal or night-vision optics instead of using traditional lamping methods. With the days beginning to shorten and peak night shooting season fast approaching, I thought I would share some of my thoughts and experiences in choosing the right kit for the job. I seldom use thermal-imaging gear with an air rifle; it can work well but, for the average rat or rabbit shooter, it is still quite expensive. Night-vision and lamping tactics are, in most cases, better suited to my requirements and budget so I will stick to those for now. Night-vision optics caused quite a stir when they arrived on the airgun scene about…

The GWCT has called for major changes to the licensing system that regulates lethal control of gulls. After changes were introduced to the licensing system last year, 56 grouse moor estates across northern England launched their own monitoring programme to look at how gull predation was affecting ground-nesting birds. During April and May 2020, 183 gamekeepers, shepherds and shoot managers witnessed a total of 1,355 incidents of gulls predating lapwings, curlew and golden plovers. Dr Roger Draycott, head of advisory services at the GWCT, said: “Many of the estates were devastated at the levels of predation they observed. In collating and sharing the data collected by the estates with Defra, we hope this submission provides a valuable addition to its ongoing review of general licensing.” A quota-based system for gull…

Reducing negative impacts from the activities of gamebirds, while maintaining beneficial work such as improving habitat and controlling predators, is the key to maximising the environmental benefits of shooting, according to a new report. The study, jointly commissioned by BASC and Natural England and undertaken by the University of Exeter and the GWCT, looked at the Ecological Consequences of Gamebird Releasing and Management on Lowland Shoots in England. The experts found that many gamebird management activities had both positive and negative consequences. For example, feeding of birds helped support wintering songbirds, but also provided food for rodents, and gamebird carrion helped feed rare carrion eaters, but also boosted generalist predators. The team reviewed hundreds of scientific papers as well as gathering data from the Animal and Plant Health Agency and…

One of the curious things about Scotland is the way that the Highlands seem to give up. For a long time as you head north the land grows higher and rockier, the soil gets thinner and fat cattle and crop land gives way to lean sheep and rangy deer. Then quite suddenly, when you hit the Islands, the land grows fat again. The grass is rich. The soil is fertile and the beasts are big. Orkney is the epitome of this. Despite being on the same latitude as St Petersburg and 100 miles north of Inverness, it is good farming country with thick grass and abundant barley. It was this bounty that brought the Viking earls. They held the islands until they were given to Scotland in lieu of a…

Looking at the worked-out gravel pits as we travel the motorways and the new ponds on many a farm, it’s easy to think that Britain is a fairly duck-friendly country. It is certainly the case that lots of new wetland habitat has been created over the past few decades. But, prior to that, a lot was lost and much of it on a grand scale. Reclaiming the land Exactly when the first person decided to improve the drainage of a piece of land to grow better crops is lost in the mists of time, but big-scale efforts go back much further than you might suppose. Victorian attempts at reclaiming land from the sea, particularly along the east coast, are well known. In places, you can see progressively bigger sea walls,…

RICHARD NEGUS IS A PROFESSIONAL HEDGE LAYER AND WRITER. HE IS A KEEN WILDFOWLER AND HAS A PASSION FOR GREY PARTRIDGES At Flea Barn from spring and through early summer, Ed Nesling and I run a trapping line. Half-a-dozen New Zealand Department of Conservation (DOC) 150 traps, a Perdix double squirrel and four Larsen traps. Each day when I got home, my son Charlie would watch over my shoulder as I noted the tally of pests accounted for in my computer’s calendar. For weeks he had plagued me, asking to tag along when I do my rounds, and I finally acquiesced. I had no qualms about his reaction to dead things; he is a child of the countryside after all. But I had reservations about what his reaction would be…

It is not rough weather that makes good wildfowling, though weather does play its part, hot or cold, dry or wet, but it is more dependent on hardship caused through weather than the actual conditions. Duck are driven away by frost but they are more seriously driven away by drought. After frost they return, but after drought they may not return again in numbers for years. Cold does not necessarily become inseparable from wildfowling. It is more pleasant to shoot without pain, though the fowler has become regarded as a sufferer from the elements. A real wildfowler enjoys his shooting in the heat of August just as well as in the frosts of Tanuary. Summer wildfowl have different habits in winter. New-fledged, the broods of duck go less cautiously about…

As the heatwave fluttered across the country and the air conditioning units fired up, so did the barbecues and with this came the inevitable clearing of the shelves and mass outdoor catering. The British are exceptional at using sunshine as an excuse to eat and drink in excess. In normal circumstances, I would be more than happy to join in, but this summer has been different and I have had to be far more conservative with my meat rations. As July and August were quieter months, with fewer excursions to find a fish or two and no opportunities to bolster my freezer with a muntjac, a meat feast was not something I could afford to host. It would probably have to wait until the pigs reached the right age. With…