Innholdsfortegnelse for 24-Mar-2021 i Shooting Times & Country

Last week while counting grey partridges, a keeper said to me he can’t understand why Brits are so keen on falling out. I was scanning the horizon for little Englishmen, so I nodded in vague agreement. But on the drive home, I gave it more thought. It can hardly have escaped anyone’s notice that arguments in the countryside, over the past year, have raged about everything from corvid control, to numbers of gamebirds put down, to the correct way to wear breeks. Regarding the first two topics, I’ve had conversations recently with people on all sides of the debate. While predator control and shooting can be chewy topics, I always come away with the feeling that the vast majority believe deeply in conservation and providing jobs for those who truly…

Nottinghamshire Police has appointed the country’s first dedicated dog theft officer as thieves continue to snatch pet and working dogs around the country. The job of leading the force’s work on dog theft will be taken by newly promoted chief inspector Amy Styles-Jones. Chief Inspector Styles-Jones is an experienced detective who worked formerly in the force’s public protection unit. Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner Emma Foody said: “I’m delighted that Nottinghamshire has become the first force in the country to appoint a dog theft lead. There is growing alarm —both locally and nationally — over the threat of dog theft. This has been fuelled by a number of distressing incidents, which haveeroded publicconfidence. “As a dog owner myself, I know just how worrying this issue is, and I’m determined to…

A healthy diet is not just about eating a wide variety of ingredients but preparing every one in many different ways. Such a diet has a boring moniker — ‘diversity’ — yet as a habit it is anything but. Look at a supermarket meat counter, however, and you would never know that there were any other cuts than the prime loins, fillets and chops, alongside a lot of mince. When it comes to selling venison, the major retailers are even more unimaginative. Steaks and mince — perhaps the odd loin. The fact that these animals have necks, shoulders or shins seems lost on buyers and shoppers alike. Yet a deer has a great deal more to it, as any stalker knows. One of the greatest privileges after an early morning’s…

What a difference a week makes to Pennine conditions, though I’m aware they do change from minute to minute at times. Our longish spell of snow throughout January and into February seems a distant memory now but, until recently, it has felt like the rabbits and deer have been playing catch up, eating as much as they can after the grass was covered for so long and they were coming under quite a bit of pressure. My pair of barn owls has vanished, dead I fear — our not inconsiderable vole population was safe under a foot or more of snow and I am no longer seeing them hunting. I had hoped they would turn up when they weather softened. One of my neighbours told me he had a tawny…

I have done a bit of partridge shooting and caught partridges with birds of prey. In the falconry world, grey partridges are seen as one of the classic flights. Greys will hold to the point well when flying a falcon over pointers, whereas redlegs are far more likely to run. Let’s look at a flight with a falcon and how it differs for both. We need to find a covey, which can be done from a distance by spying the fields for a group of birds or by putting the falcon up on spec and running dogs for a point. Here on the Cambridgeshire Fens, the land is flat and open, so spying is the order of the day. Once the covey has been found, we will retreat a good…

Though the bracco Italiano is one of the most visually striking of gundogs, it is also one of the most rare, as I noted in a recent Gundogs (A bit of positive spin, 24 February). I was delighted to receive an email from Michelle Ansell, who told me that she has two braccos, both of which work. The older of the two, Digger, is now coming up for seven. He was also her first HPR. Digger is a regular on shoots in Staffordshire, working on partridges, pheasants and duck. He goes grouse counting on moors in Lancashire and Yorkshire, the Derbyshire Dales and in Wales. Her second bracco, Dozer, is rising three, but last season’s stop-start nature robbed him of his introduction to the shooting field. Michelle reckons that braccos…

Cartridge extractors are a relic from the past and they were rendered obsolete by the widespread sale of plastic-cased cartridges. I don’t recall ever seeing one in use on a normal shoot day. However, they were once an essential part of the shooting man’s kit, which is why we often find them in old gun cases, along with cleaning tools and turn screws. There are two common inert types. The longer one has a three-claw extractor with a hook, while a smaller version simply has the three-claw extractor. Mostly made from brass, some are chromed or nickel-plated. When they were a normal part of a gun shop’s wares, as late as the 1960s, they cost four shillings for the large model and three for the smaller one. They were used…

Some years ago, I accompanied the then chief executive of Natural England on a visit to a shoot in North Yorkshire. He spoke to several locals, including the shoot owner and gamekeepers. He explained that his agency had to find a way to work with all manner of countryside interests in order to deliver its statutory duties. He acknowledged there was a certain amount of inertia within any big bureaucracy and explained how he and his chairman wanted to change internal attitudes. By the end of the visit, I was hopeful that a new golden age of co-operation and pragmatism was about to dawn. You could sense the enthusiasm on all sides. This senior public official certainly wasn’t cosying up to the shooting community. But he was prepared to give…

CROPS Talk to the seed companies about cover crops. While it may be tempting to stick with maize or kale, there may be other crops that could add diversity, colour and food for wild birds and insects. Get in touch with seed suppliers now and see what they think will work for your shoot. FOXES Hit foxes hard. Spring is probably the most important time for fox control. Not only is lambing in full swing, but ground-nesters will soon be sitting on eggs. Sustained and serious efforts to reduce fox numbers in the spring have proven beneficial effects for wildlife.…

The trial of a professional huntsman has been thrown out after a judge ruled that there was no case to answer. William Bishop, who was employed by the Crawley and Horsham Hunt, was charged with two offences under the Hunting Act. The offences were alleged to have happened in December 2019 and January 2020. However, when the case came to court, the prosecution offered no evidence in respect of the 2019 charge. A video by hunt saboteurs was supposed to provide evidence for the second charge, but it was dismissed by the judge. The film, which was shot on 21 January 2020, was claimed to show hounds picking up the scent of a fox and pursuing it. However, it did not include any images of Mr Bishop. Saboteurs claimed no…

Joanna Hartnell wonders why mink are excluded from the Hunting Act 2004 (Letters, 10 March). I suggest that she and interested readers search “League Against Cruel Sports/ mink”. This is not something I would recommend to those suffering from high blood pressure or a weak heart, as it will surely worsen their health. An inflammatory statement on LACS’s website reads: “After all these years naturalised in the UK, it can be argued that mink has now become part of the British ecosystem and is now playing the role of other native predatory species such as otters that have disappeared in some areas because of hunting, which means that it should no longer be considered a threat.” Really? How can anyone ignore or dismiss what is happening to the water vole?…

Close season for hare shooting Senior Government sources have told the Telegraphthat a close season is to be introduced for brown hares. A complete ban on shooting mountain hares is also to be introduced in England. News of the ban has sparked anger among fieldsports bodies, who argue that hare coursing is the real problem and that the Government is failing to address the issue. Tim Bonner, chair of the Countryside Alliance, commented: “This is a largely pointless proposal. There is little if any evidence of hares being culled in large numbers during the breeding season in the UK and examples of closed seasons being introduced in other countries have done nothing to halt the decline of hare populations. Scottish keepers’ virtual protest Across the country last week, rural workers…

Anew generation of goats has been born in the hills above my home. A host of fresh young kids arrived over the past few weeks and it’s a treat to find them curled up in secret where the heather meets the scree. Many of these goats can trace their origins back to wild ancestors that have been living free in Galloway since the 14th century, back in the days before sheep became the agricultural powerhouse for this area. Cast out to live in the mountains, many of these animals have grown to be extraordinarily tough and resilient. The first kids often have to contend with snow and terrible hard frosts, and it’s not unusual to find that some don’t make it. Their bodies are quickly gobbled up by hill foxes…

As I mentioned last time, Lizzie, the young flatcoat, has gone home for a little break (Driven to distraction, 24 February). She is now one year old and coming on a treat, but she needs time to just grow up. It is easy to push a young dog too hard too fast so they become overwhelmed and either shut down or rebel. With this in mind, I’ve given her owner instructions to keep her day-to-day training simple and achievable. Most of her basic training is built into daily life. When leaving the house, she’s required to heel for the first few minutes before being allowed to free run. This is to prevent her getting overexcited and barging through the door. When walking, she’s required not to go too far and…

When March is in the right mood it can organise an impressive spring festival. Right at the beginning of the month, it decided to do just that. The decision turned feeding the surviving pheasants of High Park, almost always a pleasure, into arguably the most enjoyable activity that the continuing lockdown allowed me. I remember wondering one glorious morning what in the present situation could possibly be better than wandering round my shoot in the sunshine and scattering corn for hungry pheasants. Shooting them might have been even better but, of course, the season was over and it was out of the question. Fishing was allowed, at least locally, but unfortunately the trout season would not be starting for about a fortnight and March was anyway often too early for…

ALL BEING WELL, as we come out of the paralysis of lockdown, canine competitions will return once again. Pointer and setter handlers will have missed the early spring grouse trials on the moors and the East Anglian pheasant and partridge days that are traditionally held in April, but there’s optimism that trials will resume on 12 July at Lauder, when the Dukeries Gundog Club is planning to hold a novice/all-aged stake. The highlight of the pointer and setter season, the IGL’s Champion Stake, is scheduled to take place at Bollihope in County Durham on the early dates of 28 and 29 July. There seems to be no reason why the spring and summer gundog tests shouldn’t start soon. This year’s Game Fair at Ragley Hall (23 to 25 July) looks…

BILL HARRIMAN BASC’s head of firearms and global authority on guns MAT MANNING Airgunner and journalist from the West Country DIGGORY HADOKE Vintage gun expert, firearms dealer, author and journalist BRUCE POTTS Shooting Timesrifle 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 ELLENA SWIFT Award-winning gundog trainer and canine behaviour specialist 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@futurenet.com By post: Shooting Times,…

Latin name: Verbascum thapsus Common name: Great mullein Other names: Aaron’s rod, Adam’s flannel, beggar’s blanket, bullock’s lungwort, candlewick, duffle, felt, fluffweed, hag taper, hare’s beard, Jupiter’s staff, lady’s candle, light of the lord, lucernaria, torch lily, velvet dock, woollens, woundweed How to spot it and where to find it: An erect biennial or perennial, great mullein grows a rosette of large, grey-green, downy leaves, with a tall stem that bears a spike of pale yellow saucer-shaped flowers. It can grow to 2m and likes open, sunny spaces. Great mullein can be found on waste ground, grassy verges and coastal paths. Interesting facts: Herbalists have been using great mullein for centuries, as it has several medicinal properties. The plant is widespread, growing across Africa, Asia, China and North America, and…