Is it legal for a neighbour to kill my guineafowl flow if they go on to their land?

[Garden Pixy]

We have two flocks of free ranging guineafowl and one of them (16 birds) has been feeding in a neighbouring property. The neighbour has killed 14 and badly wounded another with a crossbow. Is it legal for him to do so if the birds are 'trespassing' on his land?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

 

[Anymulewilldo]

Definitely illegal too shoot any living creature in the UK with a crossbow. So he’s well in the wrong there.
But I’m not sure as too the standing of the Guinea fowl if they are on his property? Are they still yours?

 

[neilo]

What’s the history behind this? Has he complained about @Garden Pixy ’s wandering flock previously and still had them visiting?

If I had a neighbour’s 16 guinea fowl grazing on my land then I would first have a chat. If nothing was done, I would reduce their numbers dramatically too (not by firing crossbow bolts off though, WTF?). Quite apart from the noise, why should I be expected to feed someone else’s hobby?

 

[ollie989898]

Shooting animals with a bow or similar is a hideous thing to do and the perpetrators need educating at the very least. Inform the police. If that doesn't work, Henarar and ThickFarmer should be your next point of call.

 

[Al R]

I read the title and was 95% sure that @Garden Pixy is in ‘Merica

 

[Wisconsonian]

In 'Merica the neighbOR wouldn't be using a crossbow.

 

[David.]

But bow hunting is legal in US isn't it, even for deer?
Would a .50 Browning be enough gun for Guineas in US?
I'm sure there must be YouTube clips of girls in camouflaged Kevlar bikinis, thwhacking them from 1200 yds in Texas

 

[Dry Rot]

Looks like several laws involved here if within the UK. But it is an interesting question!

I suspect it is illegal to 'release' guinea fowl with the intention of "returning them to the wild" under the Wildlife & Countryside Act. I used to use bob white quail trained to 'home' like racing pigeons for dog training purposes. It is illegal to 'release'(as defined above, i.e. intending to add them to the wild population) bob white quail but my solicitor said my use was legal as I intended to get them back.

Use of crossbow, definitely illegal.

Birds straying onto neighbour's land are still property and should be treated like any other straying livestock. Is it legal to shoot racing pigeons? Straying sheep? I don't think so.

I would say the aggrieved neighbour has various remedies under civil law. Nuisance? Damage to plants and crops? Noise abatement?

According to the local Facebook group, there's a peacock that is wandering far and wide in this area. Is it now wild bird? As non-indigenous, legal to shoot it? I wonder what they taste like......

 

[Dry Rot]

I read the title and was 95% sure that @Garden Pixy is in ‘Merica

But he spells neighbor the proper way?

 

[ollie989898]

In 'Merica the neighbOR wouldn't be using a crossbow.

No, would be using tannerite.

 

[Al R]

But he spells neighbor the proper way?

Yes that was my thought too, Guinea fowl are far more common in the US, as are crossbows hence my assumption

 

[Banana Bar]

If I was your neighbour I’d buy 6 sows and let them trespass on your property.

 

[Banana Bar]

Looks like several laws involved here if within the UK. But it is an interesting question!

I suspect it is illegal to 'release' guinea fowl with the intention of "returning them to the wild" under the Wildlife & Countryside Act. I used to use bob white quail trained to 'home' like racing pigeons for dog training purposes. It is illegal to 'release'(as defined above, i.e. intending to add them to the wild population) bob white quail but my solicitor said my use was legal as I intended to get them back.

Use of crossbow, definitely illegal.

Birds straying onto neighbour's land are still property and should be treated like any other straying livestock. Is it legal to shoot racing pigeons? Straying sheep? I don't think so.

I would say the aggrieved neighbour has various remedies under civil law. Nuisance? Damage to plants and crops? Noise abatement?

According to the local Facebook group, there's a peacock that is wandering far and wide in this area. Is it now wild bird? As non-indigenous, legal to shoot it? I wonder what they taste like......

Tough as boots

 

[David1968]

Forget the Guineafowl. I'd be more worried by a neighbour playing fast and loose with a crossbow. Crossbow bolts don't respect boundaries any more than Guineafowl.

Have a word with the Police

 

[Anymulewilldo]

I wonder what they taste like......

They taste good! We had too clear 5 feral ones from a fancy garden a few years ago. They arrived, trashed the new garden and then one saw it’s reflection in the door of the owners Porsche. Didn’t end well…

 

[Two Tone]

They taste good! We had too clear 5 feral ones from a fancy garden a few years ago. They arrived, trashed the new garden and then one saw it’s reflection in the door of the owners Porsche. Didn’t end well…

They do indeed taste good. Sort of a cross between Chicken and Turkey. Years ago, Budgens Supermarket used to sell them and we couldn’t get enough of them, they were that tasty!

 

[David.]

Budgens in your area obviously had pretentions towards supplying the Chipping Norton Set then. Was mainly PING Dinners in Brackley.

 

[Kiwi Pete]

I harvest the neighbour's peacocks now, "having a word" didn't/doesn't work.
Maybe he asked them not to fly over the fence and put the heifers through a fence and that didn't work.

Either way, they taste pretty good after being stuffed and roasted slow

 

[Two Tone]

About 30 years ago, I rented an old Farm house in Suffolk for 6 months, together with its 6 Peacocks. We moved in on 1st December. The bloody things would sit on the chimneys at night, fanning their arses to keep warm. Then the night before Christmas, one fell down the living room chimney and made one hell of a mess of all the presents!

Come the Spring, as soon as dawn broke they’d start squawking and wake everybody up!
I let the dogs out one morning and the Golden Retriever chased them off the lawn. One of the cock birds took off and flew straight into a tall hedge. The dog was jumping up and pulling his tail feathers out. I did manage to stop it, before any more serious damage was caused, but the entire family flew off to our next door neighbours, about a quarter of a mile away, never to return while we were there, thank God!


If anybody has ever read David Niven’s book “Go Slowly, come back Quickly” and how a Hollywood film Director discovered how to make a Peacock cock bird fan his feathers, on set with his ‘Goosing Stick’, you might feel some sympathy for that tail-less Peacock!
The bar-steward could still fly though!

 

[David.]

Fluffers for peacocks; learn something every day

 

[Two Tone]

Budgens in your area obviously had pretentions towards supplying the Chipping Norton Set then. Was mainly PING Dinners in Brackley.

It was Budgens in Moreton-in-Marsh. Ironically, we had just moved from East Anglia and had shopped at Budgens Harleston, but they had no Guineafowl there. What really surprised us was that the same weekly shop (Guineafowl excluded!) cost way more in Moreton than it did in Harleston. Then I noticed that every delivery box said Budgens Moreton-in-Marsh on it. Having a different price bar code on every item! Bar-stewards!!