Eskdale hawks

Thankyou for all the inerest! Gun is marked as sold!

Thanks! For the comments lads.

WOW! :blink: Nice Stock! How did ya manage to get yourself in the pic BIG NOSE SEE YA SOON FELLA

It is interesting to read that almost all of you have/have had, Mixy. I see no reference to the most virulent virus affecting the wild rabbit population atm, for which mixy is being blamed. VHD or Viral Heamoragic disease. A population of rabbits can be decimated within a matter of days if VHD is contracted. Infection to death usually occurs within 48hrs. This may explain the sudden crash of some populations, Country wide. It is a contact disease spread by the Rabbits themselves, on the feet of birds and even insects that land on an infected carcase. I believe it was first seen in China in 1984, since then it has spread to Europe,UK, Austrailia, Newzealand, Isreal and Mexico. Birds and insects were thought to be the only possible cause, as the disease is not airbourne. It has since been discovered that it can also be spead by Rabbit fur products, humans, contaminated equipment etc... The symptoms are Lethargy, Spasms, a bloody discharge from the nose and vent, and blood in the urine. Sudden death. If contracted by captive bred rabbits either show or meat stock, then it is a reportable disease.

Newcastleton is on the banks of The Liddle in Roxburgh, just over the Dumfries and Galloway border on the B 6357 to Hawick.

All the current colours of pet/show rabbits are derived from the wild rabbit. Wild colour (Agouti) Black,Blue,White, Black/White (Dutch pattern), Grey/White (Dutch pattern) Orange/White (Dutch pattern), Black/Tan, Orange, Fawn (Tan pattern) etc.... can all be seen in the wild. Most people think that these are pet rabbits, Indeed, some of these will be escapees but most will not, especially those in rural areas. Black rabbits are very common and it is said that it will brink bad to the person that shoots one.

Good luck in that area, nearly all the shooting/fishing is controlled by Buccleuch Estates.

I also said that the farmers all knew me!. None of them gave me permission to be on their land and they didn't mind me being there. As long as I didn't cause any damage they tolerated me being there. They also never minded me taking Rabbits as I was doing them a favour. I never made any attempt to evade them. Now that is what is called 'Mutual respect' and respect has to be earned. I earned it as did they!

Yes I understand what it says and what you are saying. Of course it is every sportsmans responsability to retrieve and humanely dispatch shot/wounded game. What I am saying is, once the shot has been taken and the animal/bird falls on adjacent land, then technically it becomes the property of the landowner and you need permission to legally retreive it. It does not belong to you because it is a wild animal. I aplogise to the original poster as this conversation diverts from the original post.

So I am talking a pile of ****e am I. I am not saying that 30yrs ago everybody poached. What I am saying is that I was always on land were I had no permission to be. Most of the farmers knew me by sight and I them. Some knew me by name. None barr a handful ever gave permission to ANYONE! Like I say, I was there on trust. Something that I find lacking in modern society. Nowerdays, most people who poach do so for financial gain. I didn't. and before you say it I am not trying to "dress it up". Like I said the farmers regarded me as an extra pair of eyes that they were glad of. I have NEVER taken anything but rabbits on any of the land I used to walk over. I have NEVER been in trouble with the law. So how can I be a criminal with no criminal record?

Hi! Kes, Glad you weren't referring to me. Yes it did look like you could possibly be referring to me. I am not trying to defend anyone, just trying to clarify the circumstances. I have already agreed that poaching is wrong. Please re-read the question posed by a legitimate stalker to a professional solicitor and the solicitors reply. Q) Last week I shot a roebuck, which was standing on the bank that forms a boundary between my farm and that of my neighbour. The buck ran 20 yards and then collapsed in my neighbour’s field. Was I within my rights to recover it from there? (Name and address supplied) A)The bank must belong either to yourself or your neighbour. If the buck was on your ground, you were entitled to shoot it, but not if it was on your neighbour’s, or you would have committed civil and criminal offences. As for the recovery of the carcase, you must have entered your neighbour’s land to remove the roe. In the absence of an agreement with your neighbour, or a genuine, soundly based belief that he would not have minded, you had no right to set foot on his land without his permission, let alone follow up the buck. Though you may think of it as your buck, you may again be liable in civil law for trespass and guilty in criminal law of trespassing with a firearm and illegal carcase removal. Similar liabilities might apply if you fired from your land over ground belonging to another at a buck on land belonging to you but on the other side of it. This would at least be a case of constructive trespass. Usually, all the ensuing unpleasantness can be avoided by prior liaison with neighbours. So are you saying that the answer given to the above question is wrong?

You are quite right about the ownership of roadkill! Here is an extract from the Independant. "Ownership of roadkill is debatable. Most country people assume that the driver who kills the rabbit, pheasant or pigeon may not make a meal of it, but the driver of the car behind can. In 2004, when I was researching my book on economic cooking, The New English Kitchen, the Highways Agency told me that it owns roadkill, but this rule is rarely enforced. It is, though, the party that is responsible for clearing it away". With regard to Deer, what happens when a Deer is shot and does not drop but runs on? This reaction to the shot is driven by adrenalin. Does this mean that this meat would be tainted also? I personally wouldn't eat venison that had been involved in a collision with a vehicle because if the gut was ruptured (and it more than like would be) then this would render the meat unfit for human consumption. Any bruising will also make the meat taste sour.

Under the Dogs (Protection of Livestock) Act 1953 the owner, and anyone else under whose control the dog is at the time, will be guilty of an offence if it worries livestock on agricultural land. The dog must have been attacking or chasing livestock in such a way that it could reasonably be expected to cause injury or suffering or, in the case of females, abortion or the loss or diminution of their produce. An offence is not committed if at the time of the worrying the livestock were trespassing, the dog belonged to the owner of the land on which the trespassing livestock were and the person in charge of the dog did not cause the dog to attack the livestock. The definition of 'livestock' includes cattle, sheep, goats, swine, horses and poultry. Game birds and wild animals are not included." Any dog which is not a working dog can be regarded as worrying livestock merely by being off lead and not under close control in a field or enclosure where there are sheep. A landowner could shoot such a dog, if it can be proved that the action was necessary to protect livestock and that it was reported to the police within 48 hours. The dog's owner can then be subject to all the above penalties too - except being shot, of course. Kes - Then please tell me why , if you hit a pheasant or deer with a car, then legally you are not allowed to stop and pick it up? Here is a question posed by a stalker and answered by a A solicitor who specialises in country sports law. Q) Last week I shot a roebuck, which was standing on the bank that forms a boundary between my farm and that of my neighbour. The buck ran 20 yards and then collapsed in my neighbour’s field. Was I within my rights to recover it from there? (Name and address supplied) A)The bank must belong either to yourself or your neighbour. If the buck was on your ground, you were entitled to shoot it, but not if it was on your neighbour’s, or you would have committed civil and criminal offences. As for the recovery of the carcase, you must have entered your neighbour’s land to remove the roe. In the absence of an agreement with your neighbour, or a genuine, soundly based belief that he would not have minded, you had no right to set foot on his land without his permission, let alone follow up the buck. Though you may think of it as your buck, you may again be liable in civil law for trespass and guilty in criminal law of trespassing with a firearm and illegal carcase removal. Similar liabilities might apply if you fired from your land over ground belonging to another at a buck on land belonging to you but on the other side of it. This would at least be a case of constructive trespass. Usually, all the ensuing unpleasantness can be avoided by prior liaison with neighbours. I hope you are not referring to me, ("If this was you")? I have no need to poach, I have all the land I need. When I was younger I openly 'trespassed' over a wide area of my home town. I knew most of the farmers by sight , some by name and they knew me. I built up an understanding based on trust that allowed me to persue my activities undisturbed. They knew that I would alert them to any wrong doing by others. They regarded me as an extra pair of eyes. I was about when most 'normal' people were in bed. Like I said, I have no criminal record. I have never been in trouble with the police. As for the 'poacher with a rifle/mod/scope', A ) How do you know he was a poacher? B ) if he was indeed poaching and he had an uncovered rifle in a public place, then he was commiting and offence just by being there and have an uncovered firearm in a public place. If he was indeed on private land where he had no right to be then he was commiting an offence of armed trespass. I agree, people like this get everyone who legally shoots a bad name.

So! Your dog has never retrieved anything shot,from beyond the boundary of your permission? I expect not, but if it had, then technically you are poaching, as the shot game/pigeon or what ever, becomes the property of the landowner on which it falls, and you need permission to retrieve it. Most people who participate in 'Country sports' poach wether it be intentional or not at some time or another. The fact that the individual mentioned in the original post is poaching most of the time does not automatically make hime a scumbag. He may just enjoy being out in the countryside in persuit of game. You should never judge a book by its cover. I think the post about actually offering the lad some part-time work is actually a good idea. It may just turn him around. Some of the best gamekeepers and ghillies are ex-poachers! An agressive approach will always be met with an agressive rebuff, then it's all downhill from then on. Like Lurchers, I will also admit to being in places where I didn't have permission to be, and taking Rabbits,in other words I was poaching. In those early days I never harmed any stock or damged any fencing, land, or property. I took only Rabbits, and left the place exactly as I found it. I never left litter in the countryside (still don't). In fact I leave very little trace of ever being there. During those early forays, I have been privilaged to witness at close quarters the way wildlife operates. I have seen and learned a lot about those creatures that few people will ever see in their lifetime. When I was younger I also went 'Nesting', though I never took any eggs. The challenge was to find the different birds nests and identify their eggs. I walked the countryside with the observers book of birds in one pocket and birds eggs in the other pocket. I spent most of my spare time fishing, watching birds and wildlife and taking the odd Rabbit or two. All this, on land where I had no permission to be. Does this make me a bad person? Does this make me a criminal? Remember! There were no PCs, wii's, playstations etc.... 30yrs back. I have no criminal record, I have a clean drivers licence, I hold both SGC and FAC........ On the subject of shooting the dog, ONLY the actual LANDOWNER/FARMER has the right to do this,(not the permission holder),even then it can only be done IF it can be proved that the dog was in the ACT of worrying livestock. Roe deer can not be classed as livestock as they are wild native deer. Only farmed Deer (usually Red Deer) could possibly be classed as livestock. The only way that this could be resolved is to catch him in the act of running a Deer with his dog, (very difficult to do), get him arrested by the police and charged under the wildlife and countryside act(hunting with Dogs). Taking Rabbits with a dog is not illegal. Rabbits are classed as an agricultural pest.

THE FERRET AND FERRETING GUIDE - GRAHAM WELSTED Bought it over 30yrs ago still got it. I often use it for reference if I come across anything unusual, failing that I Google!!! I don't know if it is still in print but you can still get copies.