yankeedoodlepigeon Posted December 9, 2010 Report Share Posted December 9, 2010 Hi all. My friend said he can shoot squirrel Magpie and Woodpigeon in his own garden. I think not.(with airgun and back stop). Is it a yes or no or more complicated than that? Thanks Lea. He even said a shotgun was possible to use as long as it was not too loud ie silenced and shot didn't leave the grounds. (But talking about semi/terraced.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hutchie the white hunter Posted December 9, 2010 Report Share Posted December 9, 2010 HMMM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apache Posted December 10, 2010 Report Share Posted December 10, 2010 Nowt wrong with an airgun in the garden with a suitable backstop Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yankeedoodlepigeon Posted December 10, 2010 Author Report Share Posted December 10, 2010 Thanks I stand corrected. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stubby Posted December 10, 2010 Report Share Posted December 10, 2010 Nowt wrong with an airgun in the garden with a suitable backstop I beg to differ, just because something is classed as a pest species, does not make it ok to kill, any pest species that a pest controller controls, you need to show that other methods have been taken to eradicate the pest or stop it from coming into an area, if that fails, then killing is the last option, but you still need to show good reason now wood pigeons damage crops,and can be decoyed and shot, but in a back garden or park, they are not causing such damage, unless there was a valid health and safety reason for shooting birds in the back garden, then Im affraid charges could be brought against him, if a neighbour witnessed it and reported it, even me as a pest controller can be fined upto £1000 per bird if I was to cause uneccessary suffering of a feral pigeon, that carries one of the biggest health and safety problems Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sako751sg Posted December 10, 2010 Report Share Posted December 10, 2010 If the question is can he shoot an airgun in his back garden the answer is yes,as long as the projectile doesnt leave his boundary and its done in a sensible safe manner.As for what he can shoot,he needs to make sure he abides by the general license conditions for the species involved. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inshallah Posted December 10, 2010 Report Share Posted December 10, 2010 I was flicking through 'hunting with air rifles' by mathew manning the other day and saw something about shooting pests in the garden. It mentioned pigeons eating your veg, and showed a photo of a dead woodie. When I read it, I wondered if it was legal. It also mentioned baiting pests. OK for rats, but I thought you couldn't put down bait to lure birds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stubby Posted December 10, 2010 Report Share Posted December 10, 2010 I was flicking through 'hunting with air rifles' by mathew manning the other day and saw something about shooting pests in the garden. It mentioned pigeons eating your veg, and showed a photo of a dead woodie. When I read it, I wondered if it was legal. It also mentioned baiting pests. OK for rats, but I thought you couldn't put down bait to lure birds. correct british laws are strange things its crazy all the do's and don'ts Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redgum Posted December 10, 2010 Report Share Posted December 10, 2010 There was a case earlier in the year in the BASC magazine, a chap had been fined £2000 for encouraging his son to shoot a pigeon in the garden. A neighbour reported the incident and " the injured pigeon died in the RSPB Officers arms". BASC stated that had the chap been represented by them he may have not been convicted as it may have been that the pigeon had been either damaging the garden or there being risk of disease.( pigeons carry more life threatening diseases than rats, though I think this probably is the more the case with domestic varieties) We must all remember that,even on a farm, pigeons are protected but can be controlled if causing crop damage.It is against the law to inflict unnecessary harm on any animal but regarding birds in my garden,if they are a pest I shoot them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apache Posted December 10, 2010 Report Share Posted December 10, 2010 now wood pigeons damage crops,and can be decoyed and shot, but in a back garden or park, they are not causing such damage, unless there was a valid health and safety reason for shooting birds in the back garden, then Im affraid charges could be brought against him, if a neighbour witnessed it and reported it, even me as a pest controller can be fined upto £1000 per bird if I was to cause uneccessary suffering of a feral pigeon, that carries one of the biggest health and safety problems No-one is suggesting causing 'unnecessary suffering' here, the skill of the OP was never in question. We grow veg and pigeons ruin the cabbages particularly, so I shoot them with my air rifle. You could ALWAYS argue health and safety since they carry disease. I am doing nothing wrong Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egg Posted December 10, 2010 Report Share Posted December 10, 2010 The trouble with shooting them in the garden is that you're supposed to have exhausted all other means of deterrence. Shooting them is seen as a last resort and there's plenty of people found this out the hard way. If in doubt shoot nowt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hushpower Posted December 10, 2010 Report Share Posted December 10, 2010 whose to know if you have or have not exhausted all deterents, just make sure u know the laws ,when giving the speil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fisherman Mike Posted December 10, 2010 Report Share Posted December 10, 2010 The general licence is quite clear about what can and cannot be shot for the protection of crops, we all understand it perfectly but choose to cloud its interpretation in order to justify our shooting. If you have crops growing in your garden which are subject to pigeon attack then you should net them, If this doesnt work you should scare them away. If you should decide to shoot a pigeon with an air rifle in your garden for any other reason you are breaking the law. If for example the police were called by a neighbour and you had no crops or no netting on crops you would be on a pretty sticky wicket and without doubt the CPS or the RSPB if they were involved would prosecute. The case which redgum referred to was the test case in this instance and we all know that English Law is based on precedent. Dont assume the police authorities dont know about the legalities of the genral licence because they do ! In my opinion it would be very difficult to justify shooting a pigeon in the garden so if you do you are really running the gauntlet as somebody will undoubtedly notice it. Is the momentary adrenalin bloodfest worth the risk of losing your licence??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redgum Posted December 10, 2010 Report Share Posted December 10, 2010 (edited) The general licence is quite clear about what can and cannot be shot for the protection of crops, we all understand it perfectly but choose to cloud its interpretation in order to justify our shooting. If you have crops growing in your garden which are subject to pigeon attack then you should net them, If this doesnt work you should scare them away. If you should decide to shoot a pigeon with an air rifle in your garden for any other reason you are breaking the law. If for example the police were called by a neighbour and you had no crops or no netting on crops you would be on a pretty sticky wicket and without doubt the CPS or the RSPB if they were involved would prosecute. The case which redgum referred to was the test case in this instance and we all know that English Law is based on precedent. Dont assume the police authorities dont know about the legalities of the genral licence because they do ! In my opinion it would be very difficult to justify shooting a pigeon in the garden so if you do you are really running the gauntlet as somebody will undoubtedly notice it. Is the momentary adrenalin bloodfest worth the risk of losing your licence??? This whole subject is such a difficult one in respect to the law. My mother in law has a huge garden, could almost call it small holding. She nets her peas against pigeons, she puts up CD's and foil to scare them. Pigeons are pretty crafty chaps, they still manage to sit on the netting and eat the peas. Now should the mother in law spend a few grand on a special oversized cage for her peas before she has them shot. A few fields away, as the pigeon flies as to speak, I decoy pigeons and shoot them over stubble, they are'nt doing harm to the stubble are they, I'm just controlling numbers for the farmer.The case of the chap prosecuted for letting his son shoot a pigeon was only a test case because he did'nt know how to defend his situation. I may be wrong but how I read the report of the incident in the BASC magazine was it would have been more of a test case if the chap had been a member of BASC and been represented legally by them,he wouldnt have been prosecuted. Edited December 10, 2010 by Redgum Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
masterzone2 Posted December 12, 2010 Report Share Posted December 12, 2010 One has come my attention A mate was informed by Essex police he could use his shotgun in his back garden as the garden was much longer than the range of the shotgun(s) he had ownership of. However that was just a "he could" nothing was said about what he was allowed to shoot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stubby Posted December 13, 2010 Report Share Posted December 13, 2010 One has come my attention A mate was informed by Essex police he could use his shotgun in his back garden as the garden was much longer than the range of the shotgun(s) he had ownership of. However that was just a "he could" nothing was said about what he was allowed to shoot. if he was dispatching cage caught foxes then its fine, as long as your not disturbing neighbours or the shot is not leaving the garden perimeter... most gardens exceed the range of a shotgun, if you aim straight down into the earth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southeastpete Posted January 2, 2011 Report Share Posted January 2, 2011 on this, i used the old google maps, and found my back garden is over 50 yards from any other houses. I live in a village, and we have a little under an acre. If i was to take the occasional shot, (12g) would i be within my rights? I would only do it to maybe pattern test or get one of them damn grey squirrells taking all of our walnuts and bird feed. So if a neighbour tried saying half to a dozen shots a month was a nuisance, would i be in trouble? Cheers, Pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njc110381 Posted January 2, 2011 Report Share Posted January 2, 2011 Talk to your neighbours first. You may find (as I did) that they're ok with it. Letting a shot off so they **** themselves when they're hanging out the washing isn't a good way to introduce them to firearms! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RC45 Posted January 2, 2011 Report Share Posted January 2, 2011 Surely the land has to be cleared before you can shoot, no matter if it is your garden Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apache Posted January 2, 2011 Report Share Posted January 2, 2011 Surely the land has to be cleared before you can shoot, no matter if it is your garden Not with an open ticket. Not with a shotgun Not with an air rifle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njc110381 Posted January 3, 2011 Report Share Posted January 3, 2011 (edited) If you have land restrictions on your FAC then you can only shoot on ground cleared by the chief of police for your area. So then I suppose it depends whether it's been done (I know of a few smaller than smallholding people who have a .22lr for Fox that try to eat their chickens)? On the discussion with my FEO regarding exactly that matter his answer was "you wouldn't make a retired lady buy a .22-250 just to shoot the odd Fox out of her bedroom window would you?!". So yes, it does happen! :blink: Edited January 3, 2011 by njc110381 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sprackles Posted January 3, 2011 Report Share Posted January 3, 2011 Tis indeed a strange state of affairs re garden shooting but let me play devils advocate here. Many posters have emphasised the issue re crop protection and if the birds are not damaging crops then they cannot be shot under the general licence. OK.....so how many of us have shot birds coming in to roost where they are damaging no crops, or shot them over stubbles where the crop has already been harvested. Its one of those points that really winds me up when I see drum beaters for both camps adamant they are right without thinking laterally. If its crop protection only then we cant shoot roosts and stubbles surely but if shooting stubbles and roosts is legal for health reasons shall we say, then that negates the argument for not shooting them in the garden. As for the prosecution setting a precedent, precedents can be broken especially if the chap was only nobbled via magistrates court as its the High Court...(one above crown) that sets precedents and even then, they have been overturned eventually...and expensivelly, which is why minor cases such as this tend not to be appealed. Had he pleaded not guilty then he could have appealed but his guilty plea has sealed his fate but not anyone elses who may find themselves in this boat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njc110381 Posted January 3, 2011 Report Share Posted January 3, 2011 All this is taking into consideration that your quarry is on the general license and the reason for shooting is for crop protection. If you shoot at something that is considered vermin for other reasons then maybe garden shooting is more than acceptable? Ie shooting Rats to reduce the risk of disease? I shoot Magpies in the garden because they eat the little nestlings that hatch in my hedge. To me that's as good a reason as any! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yankeedoodlepigeon Posted January 3, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 3, 2011 Some very good points raised ie shooting over stubble or how far do you go to protect your garden greens or bird feed. but if it might get you in hot water its not worth it but if you want to protect your birds in your bird box from the magpie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stubby Posted January 4, 2011 Report Share Posted January 4, 2011 Tis indeed a strange state of affairs re garden shooting but let me play devils advocate here. Many posters have emphasised the issue re crop protection and if the birds are not damaging crops then they cannot be shot under the general licence. OK.....so how many of us have shot birds coming in to roost where they are damaging no crops, or shot them over stubbles where the crop has already been harvested. Its one of those points that really winds me up when I see drum beaters for both camps adamant they are right without thinking laterally. If its crop protection only then we cant shoot roosts and stubbles surely but if shooting stubbles and roosts is legal for health reasons shall we say, then that negates the argument for not shooting them in the garden. its a good point, and Id reply, depends where you do the shooting, see if we go by the general license, you'll notice wood pigeon cannot be shot for "sport" but only for pest control, yet we constantly see people using the sport quote, anyway, if you on a permission, shooting over stubble, your right in saying, crop protection is not needed, but you could use the excuse that those birds would be flying on, to poo in the feed bins, or their roosting area,being knee high in gauno (droppings) is a health risk, you couldent however use the same excuse in your back garden, whilst shooting the odd pigeon off your bird table, plus if you look, its illegal to entice pigeons down with seed to shoot them, so further offenses committed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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