Will game shooting go ahead this autumn?

[Pilatus]

Un

Perhaps a season to return to just a friends and family only shoot, relying on what nature provides as we did years ago.
Not many birds but not much expense either.
If you have gamekeeper/s to pay you have a financial problem, so no comment if you are in that situation.

Although I posted the above, I have to ask , when was the last time you have seen pheasant chicks while cutting hay , on the side of country lanes pecking grit etc etc?
I have not seen wild pheasant chicks for many years, is that because the breeding/maternal instinct has been breed out of pheasants ,plus so many pheasant chick predators are now protected , whereas 49yrs ago when I was 20 they weren’t???

 

[Nithsdale]

What will be the implications of a shoot that puts several thousand birds down on a relatively small area , in the hope that everything will carry on as normal , only to find that restrictions remain in place and shoots are not allowed to operate ?
Obviously financial costs will be high but what about crop damage , and would the birds have to fed right through to the following season ?

I'll tell you as the season (doesn't) unfold.

Keeper here told me today they're putting their usual numbers of birds down. He didn't have much answer when I said I don't want them still on me after the end of the season...

 

[faircomment]

Un

Although I posted the above, I have to ask , when was the last time you have seen pheasant chicks while cutting hay , on the side of country lanes pecking grit etc etc?
I have not seen wild pheasant chicks for many years, is that because the breeding/maternal instinct has been breed out of pheasants ,plus so many pheasant chick predators are now protected , whereas 49yrs ago when I was 20 they weren’t???

I see plenty of pheasants rearing young here,
Along with a healthy population of grey partridge. All down to a lot of hard work, conservation, large areas of game crop and keeping predators at bay. As the nearly everyone involved in the sport has said here, shooting and conservation go hand in hand.
It is just a matter of how well a shoot is run and how greedy they are.

 

[T Hectares]

Always the best way.

'How did your shooting go yesterday?'

'No idea: got a big headache this morning though....'

Be careful on that type of day or this situation could happen, and neither fits in the other...

 

[som farmer]

we have seen pheasant broods, well grown, partridges and chicks, don' think to successfully, and, for the first time in years, hedgehogs, wouldn't have anything to do with the badger cull, would it ? Suprisingly, more foxes.

 

[Sid]

Don’t often particularly target them.

You mean your not a good enough shot, so think I can't hit it so leave it ???

 

[Old Spot]

You organised!

 

[Johnnyboxer]

Un

Although I posted the above, I have to ask , when was the last time you have seen pheasant chicks while cutting hay , on the side of country lanes pecking grit etc etc?
I have not seen wild pheasant chicks for many years, is that because the breeding/maternal instinct has been breed out of pheasants ,plus so many pheasant chick predators are now protected , whereas 49yrs ago when I was 20 they weren’t???

That's a very good point, very rarely nowadays, but in the 1970/80's it was very common to see pheasant chicks in the swath in a hay or silage field

 

[Ramrod]

The point is who's going to order birds from a game farm, when there is a good chance that there will be no shooting (gatherings of more than two people not allowed).

Also remember, most guns are getting on a bit, and certainly a huge number of beaters are elderly/retired, all classed as susceptible people.

 

[happycows]

You mean your not a good enough shot, so think I can't hit it so leave it ???

I had left right snipes 3 years ago. I’ll never forget them and I’ll never let the rest of the lads that were beside me forget either ?.

However there seems to be plenty of flying turkeys I seem to be able to miss with both barrels that come back to haunt me ?

I’m not really that fussed at shooting, although I do appreciate having a few nice shots to remember the season by.
I really enjoy the company and social side of our little syndicate.
My most rewarding task is picking up with my dogs behind the guns on some slightly bigger driven days of 60/100 birds nearby. Seems to be a really good demand for these smaller days affordable by your average working class man as a treat. I like the fact we all enjoy the day together with a chat as we go.

 

[som farmer]

whats the point of thinking negatively, if we follow this line of thought, we won't be doing anything, foot ball, rugby, cricket, racing, skittles, pubs, ag shows, the list is endless, we will get to the other side of this, and life will continue, and we have to plan on that, or, whats the alternative ?

 

[thesilentone]

Well run and managed shoots make a positive contribution to the Countryside, remember, no shoots, no pheasants. The shoot that only bags "what nature provides" is only shooting pheasants because someone in the area is releasing them, as with the person shooting over 50% of their release.

Without shooting, pheasants would disappear from our landscape, unless in an area where wild birds existed someone was aggressively controlling vermin, and feeding through the winter and summer months.

However, some good points have been made, especially regarding the release of high numbers and the potential consequences of no shooting being allowed. One thing a pheasant can do is eat, the result is low cholesterol, low fat, high protein meat that is getting onto more and more plates again in the UK.

We shoot around 28% of our release, and feed right through, therefore year on year we should have no shortage of wild birds, but we haven't because the vermin is also being fed from our endevours. Like it or lump it, we live with it because of the conservation benefits.

One of the big negatives of no shooting is human, and the lack of meeting friends and socialising amongst like minded people who are not all Country dwellers, many enjoy working dogs, beating, picking-up, flagging, tapping or just a good walk out.

Without shooting for me, it will be a long winter.

 

[Brisel]

we have seen pheasant broods, well grown, partridges and chicks, don' think to successfully, and, for the first time in years, hedgehogs, wouldn't have anything to do with the badger cull, would it ? Suprisingly, more foxes.

Badgers are competing with foxes for the same resources, so it’s not unusual for fox numbers to increase in cull areas unless the contractors are resident ‘keepers!