kevinbird Posted December 2, 2010 Report Share Posted December 2, 2010 after reading several threads on the forum i am starting to get confused . some members say dont shoot the piddies cos they are starving and some say shoot em . i have a area of rape which runs allong side a wood and it is on the lea side so the snow is quite thin. it is getting hammered on a daily basis but i dont know whether to shoot them or not because of what everyone is saying. i think that these birds are well fed and should be shot but if i decoy i will pull in some skinny birds.i thought that the idea is to help rid the farmer of pests and surley if they are left to starve then when the snow has gone they will go on a feeding frenzy. if you can only shoot on weekends like most members then there is a chance that the snow has gone on monday morning and the pigeons will have five full days of filling their faces as they have not been disturbed in weeks.the damage that they do in five days could be catastrophic and the farmer is not going to be very happy , can somebody please give me some sound advice. kev Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
william Posted December 2, 2010 Report Share Posted December 2, 2010 Well pigeons are still vermin I think and they are hammering the crops??? so I would shoot them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silver pigeon 3 Posted December 2, 2010 Report Share Posted December 2, 2010 As above mate, if they are on the crops then they are fair game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Essex Hunter Posted December 2, 2010 Report Share Posted December 2, 2010 Well if the farmer gets ****** of as you are holding back because what other people think and gets some else in to do the job. You will be the losser....... There are a lot of people out there who cant get land to shoot over! And you dont know what to do!! GAFG Regards TEH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sitsinhedges Posted December 2, 2010 Report Share Posted December 2, 2010 Shoot em. They wont be cold and hungry anymore then Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cosd Posted December 2, 2010 Report Share Posted December 2, 2010 Woody's are not vermin!!! But they do damage to crops. If they are damaging the farmers crop then you have to follow his wishes. If they are not damaging any crop then I would say leave them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al4x Posted December 2, 2010 Report Share Posted December 2, 2010 Woody's are not vermin!!! But they do damage to crops. If they are damaging the farmers crop then you have to follow his wishes. If they are not damaging any crop then I would say leave them. Yes they are vermin, Simple answer is they will hit what they can see above snow and strip it bare so you may get good sport in places. Its an ethical question whether you leave them and I can assure you the farmers I know where it is their living won't be leaving them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
william Posted December 2, 2010 Report Share Posted December 2, 2010 Yes they are vermin, Simple answer is they will hit what they can see above snow and strip it bare so you may get good sport in places. Its an ethical question whether you leave them and I can assure you the farmers I know where it is their living won't be leaving them. :good: I'm with you on this one and as the post says the crop is getting hit so they need shooting Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
proTOM1 Posted December 2, 2010 Report Share Posted December 2, 2010 If the birds are able to get to food or crops and are doing damage and the farmer has asked for them to be sorted then shoot them as there a pest and need shooting , if your just wanting to go and shoot some pigeons for sport then its a no go for me as with all the snow its not easy for the birds to find food and pigeons soon lose there condition . This is just my view and i will be out if 1 of my farmers ask me to but untill they do i wont bother I have seen no birds today on rape but then again its all covered with 2 feet of snow but have seen thousands on game strips and in the hedges plus loads on game feeders ,so atleast there finding some food Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cookiemonsterandmerlin. Posted December 2, 2010 Report Share Posted December 2, 2010 Vermin yes but still needs respect . Cheers OTH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woody swacker Posted December 2, 2010 Report Share Posted December 2, 2010 after reading several threads on the forum i am starting to get confused . some members say dont shoot the piddies cos they are starving and some say shoot em . i have a area of rape which runs allong side a wood and it is on the lea side so the snow is quite thin. it is getting hammered on a daily basis but i dont know whether to shoot them or not because of what everyone is saying. i think that these birds are well fed and should be shot but if i decoy i will pull in some skinny birds.i thought that the idea is to help rid the farmer of pests and surley if they are left to starve then when the snow has gone they will go on a feeding frenzy. if you can only shoot on weekends like most members then there is a chance that the snow has gone on monday morning and the pigeons will have five full days of filling their faces as they have not been disturbed in weeks.the damage that they do in five days could be catastrophic and the farmer is not going to be very happy , can somebody please give me some sound advice. kev get out and nail em!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cosd Posted December 2, 2010 Report Share Posted December 2, 2010 I stand corrected, I didn't think they were classified as vermin, but am proven wrong! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popgun Posted December 2, 2010 Report Share Posted December 2, 2010 I shot a few this morning they were on the rape and they were as fat as pigs and they are most defentley vermin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cookiemonsterandmerlin. Posted December 2, 2010 Report Share Posted December 2, 2010 I think what you do in this weather defines the type of shooter you are. OTH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevinbird Posted December 2, 2010 Author Report Share Posted December 2, 2010 (edited) what type would that be OTH . kev Edited December 2, 2010 by kevinbird Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pigeonblasterian Posted December 2, 2010 Report Share Posted December 2, 2010 Its up to the individual to choose if they want to shoot or not.Some areas are worse than others and at the moment i am not shooting.But if i saw one of my permissions getting hammered by pigeons then i would start shooting again.They are still on the hawthorne berries near me but the berries are dwindling rapidly and the snow is still covering the rape.If they start on the rape when the thaw comes then i will be there to keep them off if possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr_T Posted December 2, 2010 Report Share Posted December 2, 2010 Snow is thin on the ground around Cambridgeshire and I've seen a number of fields of OSR being hit hard by large number of pigeons today. Crop damage continues..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cookiemonsterandmerlin. Posted December 2, 2010 Report Share Posted December 2, 2010 what type would that be OTH . kev If the birds are in good condition and if that statement is true crack on. But bear in mind as pigeons and other birds are not like other animails they dont hold fat in mass so thay can be in top nick on monday but after three days of little food they condition drops quickly. IMHO in the areas being wacked by heavy snow just wait a little for it to thaw and then get out there . Are we out to wipe out woodies or control numbers to a reasonable number. Cheers OTH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turbo33 Posted December 2, 2010 Report Share Posted December 2, 2010 I was tempted to post this earlier but chickened out I can never understand the difference of views expressed between summer decoying and winter decoying as to the moral/ethical issue. We successfully decoy them in the summer because they want to feed. We do the same in winter.We enjoy our big bags in the summer, why not in the winter? What is the difference? Should you shoot anything including pigeons is a moral/ethical question. So also is should you shoot them in the summer when they may well leave young starving. But the argument for not shooting them when food is short seems a bit hypocritical unless its to conserve numbers. I will be out on the rape in the hope of a good day like most others Just my puzzlings and not intended to start a war, tins of worms etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cookiemonsterandmerlin. Posted December 2, 2010 Report Share Posted December 2, 2010 I was tempted to post this earlier but chickened out I can never understand the difference of views expressed between summer decoying and winter decoying as to the moral/ethical issue. We successfully decoy them in the summer because they want to feed. We do the same in winter.We enjoy our big bags in the summer, why not in the winter? What is the difference? Should you shoot anything including pigeons is a moral/ethical question. So also is should you shoot them in the summer when they may well leave young starving. But the argument for not shooting them when food is short seems a bit hypocritical unless its to conserve numbers. I will be out on the rape in the hope of a good day like most others Just my puzzlings and not intended to start a war, tins of worms etc. Nothing wrong with your views . Its healthy for us all to think about are actions the only thing is that shooting birds in summer or any other time we are not driving them off what maybe they only food source in a large area. So that why I would not like to drive thin birds to there stavation in the name of crop protection. Cheers OTH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrpip Posted December 2, 2010 Report Share Posted December 2, 2010 I would hate to be the person who shot the last woodie, but I will be out tomorrow shooting a field of kale, some may say leave them till the thaw, but this kale provides winter feed for the sheep & if left till this 2 ft of snow has gone there will be no leaf left on it. They have had a real go at it already, snows been down here since Saturday. still snowing now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
liamp79 Posted December 2, 2010 Report Share Posted December 2, 2010 Hi there mate, I personally would shoot them if they're hitting the crops. Think of it from the farmers point of view. All he can see is them eating his liveliehood. Good luck with whatever you decide mate! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garden gun Posted December 3, 2010 Report Share Posted December 3, 2010 Woodies are on the General Licence. If crop damage ie it is being eaten is occuring they can be shot. End of. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cranfield Posted December 3, 2010 Report Share Posted December 3, 2010 When the weather is too bad to shoot pigeons, its usually too bad to get out and shoot pigeons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevinbird Posted December 3, 2010 Author Report Share Posted December 3, 2010 thanks to everyone who replied, some good sound advice. i think that this is a case of "PROTECT THE CROPS" so that is what i am going to try and do kev Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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