Shooting Times & Country 5-Jan-2022

Last week I bought some apple juice. Not an exciting event in and of itself, but the man who runs the stall was wearing a jumper with a woodcock embroidered across it. It wasn’t the first time I’d noticed his attire. Three weeks earlier, when I’d been buying cider — hair of the dog — I’d noticed he had a partridge on his shirt. “Do you shoot a few woodcock?” I asked as I handed him the coins. His face changed — I imagine he thought I was about to rain fury down upon him. I explained my fondness for woodcock: eating them, shooting them and watching them flight out of the woods at night. After we’d worked out he was a lifelong Shooting Times reader, he admitted he no longer shoots…

Natural England has provided an update on how its satellite-tagged hen harriers are getting on and the news has prompted hope that the conflict that has surrounded the birds is coming to an end. Last year, 31 pairs of hen harriers attempted to breed in England, the largest number ever recorded. Of these nests, 24 were successful, with a total of 84 chicks fledged. Earlier this year, it was confirmed that 19 of these nests were on grouse moors, where optimal habitat and low predator densities allow harriers the best possible start. Fourteen adult hen harriers were already fitted with satellite tags. Four of them — Dru, Frank, Sofia and Colin — attempted to breed in England. Another bird, Sorrel, who was tagged in 2016, crossed the border to breed in Scotland. “Nineteen…

Bedfordshire Police has assigned an officer to investigate whether a criminal offence was committed by the RSPB when it published advice on baiting electric fences (News, 24 November 2021). A controversial manual published by the charity included advice to bait fences to encourage predators to lick or sniff them and to get a shock. The manual said: “For foxes people have tried using some dripping or meat or gravy residues eg from the Sunday roast or wrapping strips of bacon around the wires at regular intervals around the fence, about the height of a fox’s nose. For badgers try honey, syrup, peanut butter or treacle.” The investigation came after an intervention by noted RSPB critic Lord Botham. The former England cricketer suggested that the charity may be responsible for encouraging others to…

The Home Office has advised GPs to “deprioritise” firearm and shotgun certificate applications as they push to curb the Omicron outbreak. Doctors have a key role in providing the vaccine booster, which experts believe is vital in stopping a crippling new wave of disease. According to the Countryside Alliance, GPs have now been told that completing the medical declarations on firearm and shotgun certificates is one of the pieces of work that they should put on hold. The alliance believes this will lead to a four-week delay in obtaining a certificate. Changes in the policy pursued by police forces in recent months have effectively made a medical declaration a requirement of anyone seeking the grant or renewal of a firearm or shotgun certificate. Among the forces changing its policies is Northamptonshire Police. Well-informed sources…

SHOOT Change your beating line tactics. January pheasants are often well educated. After three months of flapping flags, quartering spaniels and gunshots, many will now know the drill and will be well aware of how to dodge the danger areas. Adding a walking Gun, changing the direction of the beating line or shifting some pegs can all catch wily birds unawares. SHOOT Adjust expectations for end-of-season shooting. January is the month when high birds, tricky shots and small bags should be the aim. Increasing the number of birds available late in the season requires significant extra releases in the summer, which in turn can put pressure on release sites. Make your January shooting about quality, not quantity.…

Gamekeepers have slammed a plan that they believe will harm biodiversity and deprive them of their livelihoods. The Cairngorms National Park Authority’s five-year plan includes proposals to reduce gamebird releases, limit muirburn, slash deer numbers and encourage tree planting. The Scottish Gamekeepers Association (SGA) claims that the plan belittles its members and that it is “irresponsible”. Responding to a plan to reduce numbers of deer in the National Park to between five and eight deer per square kilometre, the SGA said: “SGA members have managed more deer in the last decade than any other representative organisation (over one million). The biodiversity benefits of this should not be forgotten by those shaping policies which could further undermine viability. “Deer and game managers make up an interwoven element of the Park’s cultural heritage, which cannot…