al4x Posted March 22, 2011 Report Share Posted March 22, 2011 Ok so we have broadened the search from Mersey Island to the East of England but really that needs to be the entire country, the current General license is in place to do exactly what you want. Allow the control in a prescribed fashion where its needed and when, I'm yet to see any proof of this cowboy element only evidence that Canada numbers have done nothing but increase to pest proportions. Its a worrying thing for wildfowlers to be saying the general licenses don't work and if they get BASC to take that stance members will leave in droves as it will be the biggest threat to most of our shooting seen so far. Comparing them to pheasants is so irrelevant its untrue, pheasants do wander but not far in the whole scheme of things, most farms that sustain the damage only do so as they themselves release the birds and if you are sustaining damage from neighbours birds thats usually a good thing as it gives you plenty of winter sport. I know syndicates who pay farmers for the damage but you won't find anyone coughing up for the damage done by canadas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MC Posted March 22, 2011 Report Share Posted March 22, 2011 Mersea Al4x, it is Mersea Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
highseas Posted March 22, 2011 Report Share Posted March 22, 2011 Tim Kelly just cast back over past posts on this subject and you will see a lot of people are shooting them in the breeding season including some who appear to delight in shooting goslings and blowing the heads off geese with high power rifles . What sort of picture does that paint to the public about sporting shooting. call me wat you will but shooting a animal that is a pest be it goose or rabbit in the head with a rifle is better that trying to kill it with a scatter gun, of that ime shure! the as for shootng goslings a goose that is a pest be it 2 days old or 2 years old is still a goose!the prolem is this, poeple get mixed up with pest controle and sport. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anser2 Posted March 23, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 23, 2011 Quote “ :no:as for shootng goslings a goose that is a pest be it 2 days old or 2 years old is still a goose!the prolem is this, poeple get mixed up with pest controle and sport “ That says it all , perhaps you would also enjoy blasting pigeon squabs in the nest or baby pheasnts chicks. The word missing here is respect for your quarry be it pest or game species. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CharlieT Posted March 23, 2011 Report Share Posted March 23, 2011 Quote “ :no:as for shooting gosling's a goose that is a pest be it 2 days old or 2 years old is still a goose!the problem is this, people get mixed up with pest control and sport “ That says it all , perhaps you would also enjoy blasting pigeon squabs in the nest or baby pheasants chicks. The word missing here is respect for your quarry be it pest or game species. You seem to have missed the point. Highseas was talking of pest control NOT sporting shooting. Now I don't know if you get involved with any pest control but as a farmer I on occasion when there is a need I do and I for one do not differentiate between old and young be they mouse, rat, fox or whatever. Pest control is not carried out for enjoyment or sport but with the sole purpose of eradicating the pest. What is this respect for your quarry notion, the idea is to kill without causing suffering. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scully Posted March 23, 2011 Report Share Posted March 23, 2011 Quote “ :no:as for shootng goslings a goose that is a pest be it 2 days old or 2 years old is still a goose!the prolem is this, poeple get mixed up with pest controle and sport “ That says it all , perhaps you would also enjoy blasting pigeon squabs in the nest or baby pheasnts chicks. The word missing here is respect for your quarry be it pest or game species. It just isn't getting through is it?PEST CONTROL HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH SPORT!I was out at the weekend ferreting some pens for a local farmer.At one time the ferret bolted two very young rabbits.Did I let them go because they were fluffy and cute?What do you think?Aferret in a nest of baby rabbits will kill them all,and that's what the landowner wants....in a matter of weeks they'll be reproducing. In the role of pest control I would indeed 'blast' a nest of pigeon squabs the same way I would 'blast' a nest of rats....this is not 'sport',but pest control. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anser2 Posted March 23, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 23, 2011 (edited) It just isn't getting through is it?PEST CONTROL HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH SPORT!I was out at the weekend ferreting some pens for a local farmer.At one time the ferret bolted two very young rabbits.Did I let them go because they were fluffy and cute?What do you think?Aferret in a nest of baby rabbits will kill them all,and that's what the landowner wants....in a matter of weeks they'll be reproducing. In the role of pest control I would indeed 'blast' a nest of pigeon squabs the same way I would 'blast' a nest of rats....this is not 'sport',but pest control. Pest control be dammed , that’s no reason for that sort of behaviour. If I am rabbit shooting for pest control there is no way I would think about killing baby rabbits. And I do not know a farmer who would condone it ether. I would be kicked off my shooting if my farmers saw me doing that. I just give up , just what sort of people do we have shooting these days. Killers it seems with a blood lust to kill anything for any reason and no respect for our wildlife. Edited March 23, 2011 by anser2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dekers Posted March 23, 2011 Report Share Posted March 23, 2011 (edited) Pest control be dammed , that’s no reason for that sort of behaviour. If I am rabbit shooting for pest control there is no way I would think about killing baby rabbits. And I do not know a farmer who would condone it ether. I would be kicked off my shooting if my farmers saw me doing that. I just give up , just what sort of people do we have shooting these days. Killers it seems with a blood lust to kill anything for any reason and no respect for our wildlife. answer2 I don't want to start another one, and strange as it may seem I'm with CharlieT and Scully here. Your farmers obviously have no serious rabbit issues, Pest Control is Pest Control, it isn't about leaving a few to shoot next year! I've just got back from a reasonably successful Pest Control operation on the bunnies, 2 were no more than bundles of fluff, the reality is, those bundles of fluff would be breeding and producing offspring themselves in just a few months. The sort of people we have here are responsible professional Pest Controllers who do the job for their clients, I would get laughed out of a job if I said I don't shoot baby rabbits. ATB! Edited March 23, 2011 by Dekers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave-G Posted March 24, 2011 Report Share Posted March 24, 2011 Pest control be dammed , that’s no reason for that sort of behaviour. If I am rabbit shooting for pest control there is no way I would think about killing baby rabbits. And I do not know a farmer who would condone it ether. I would be kicked off my shooting if my farmers saw me doing that. I just give up , just what sort of people do we have shooting these days. Killers it seems with a blood lust to kill anything for any reason and no respect for our wildlife. I'm so looking forwards to hearing what your reason to kill is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harveykeitel22 Posted March 24, 2011 Report Share Posted March 24, 2011 You wanna come my way, theres loads and grey lags aswell, i drive by a winter barley field everyday and there on there with grey lag's and looks like there doing a good job of grazing the field off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MC Posted March 24, 2011 Report Share Posted March 24, 2011 I'm so looking forwards to hearing what your reason to kill is. I make no bones about why I shoot, I am honest and shoot because I enjoy doing it. I do not go and shoot pigeons because I feel I am doing the farmer a favour, I shoot them because I want to and also learning the skill of decoying them and what works and what doesn't. Likewise I go Wildfowling because there is no better place to be than on a marsh at first or last light. However I also see that having birds like Canada Geese on the OGL gives anyone the excuse to shoot them whenever they feel like it, not always when they are being a pest. There are a few shooters near me who will take positions around a lake on a golf course in the early evening and shoot every goose that comes in to feed. They have literally shot hundreds but the geese are not being a pest, they go there to drink in the evening and then flight back to a RSPB reserve in the morning. The lakes were there long before the golf course. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrewluke Posted March 24, 2011 Report Share Posted March 24, 2011 Tim Kelly just cast back over past posts on this subject and you will see a lot of people are shooting them in the breeding season including some who appear to delight in shooting goslings and blowing the heads off geese with high power rifles . What sort of picture does that paint to the public about sporting shooting. call me wat you will but shooting a animal that is a pest be it goose or rabbit in the head with a rifle is better that trying to kill it with a scatter gun, of that ime shure! the as for shootng goslings a goose that is a pest be it 2 days old or 2 years old is still a goose!the prolem is this, poeple get mixed up with pest controle and sport. at he end of the day it's pest control for the landowner and sport for the pest controller,so to say it's not for sport is bullsh*t,just my opinion andrew Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al4x Posted March 24, 2011 Report Share Posted March 24, 2011 Pest control be dammed , that’s no reason for that sort of behaviour. If I am rabbit shooting for pest control there is no way I would think about killing baby rabbits. And I do not know a farmer who would condone it ether. I would be kicked off my shooting if my farmers saw me doing that. I just give up , just what sort of people do we have shooting these days. Killers it seems with a blood lust to kill anything for any reason and no respect for our wildlife. you just blew your whole credibility there, I must also have a blood lust as Monday night out lamping we had no end of baby rabbits shared between me and the farmer. Why you ask because we can actually get hold of them now before the crops grow and every baby you shoot now is one not to breed while the crop is too high to shoot them. Its about stopping crop damage which is the whole reason for shooting in the first place, as for not knowing a farmer who would like it give me a break I could name half a dozen round me who are the first ones to do it. Its the harsh reality of shooting I guess deer stalking would really get your goat in that case muntjac stalking we specifically look for heavily pregnant does Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scully Posted March 24, 2011 Report Share Posted March 24, 2011 Are you serious anser2!!I know dozens of farmers;if I told any one of them I'm not shooting baby rabbits they;d tell me to **** off and then they'd get someone else to do it.What about rats,foxes? I quite like foxes,and wont shoot them unless asked(why get rid of one which is doing no harm,and run the chance the one that takes over will be a sod?)but if you spot cubs on the surface playing,leave 'em alone....shoot the vixen first and then you can shoot the cubs at will.I don't think you're cut out for pest control anser2,you stick to your 'sporting' shots. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul223 Posted March 24, 2011 Report Share Posted March 24, 2011 and for the love of sh 1 ty canada geese Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul223 Posted March 24, 2011 Report Share Posted March 24, 2011 I do not go and shoot pigeons because I feel I am doing the farmer a favour, I shoot them because I want to and also learning the skill of decoying them and what works and what doesn't. However I also see that having birds like Canada Geese on the OGL gives anyone the excuse to shoot them whenever they feel like it, not always when they are being a pest. :blink: contradicting ones self BIG TIME Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al4x Posted March 24, 2011 Report Share Posted March 24, 2011 Are you serious anser2!!I know dozens of farmers;if I told any one of them I'm not shooting baby rabbits they;d tell me to **** off and then they'd get someone else to do it.What about rats,foxes? I quite like foxes,and wont shoot them unless asked(why get rid of one which is doing no harm,and run the chance the one that takes over will be a sod?)but if you spot cubs on the surface playing,leave 'em alone....shoot the vixen first and then you can shoot the cubs at will.I don't think you're cut out for pest control anser2,you stick to your 'sporting' shots. I think sticking to bird watching rather than shooting may be the best option Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CharlieT Posted March 24, 2011 Report Share Posted March 24, 2011 I rather like the post by MC this morning and I think that sums up my feelings. The OGL is a useful tool to have and having it in place to control pest's when the need arises rather than having to apply for a special license with all the hastle that goes with it is of great benefit. It does sadden me though that some appear use the OGL as an excuse to "get a bit of sport", as per MC's post and such acts do none of us any favors and portray shooting in the wrong light and such acts could and I stress could make NE think twice about the whole OGL issue and then where will pigeon and corvid shooters be with their sport even more restricted and controlled by red tape. I do feel though that some posters have double standards. It is imperative that one draws a distinction between sporting shooting, be that on occasion with their pest control hat on and true pest control where the controllers aim and obligation to his employer is to either eradicate or reduce the pest numbers to an acceptable level. If I have a nest of stoats or foxes living by my birds I wish to cull the lot, same goes for rabbits feasting on my corn or cover crops or moles in my silage grass and sometimes I have to cull some deer for the same reasons (try living with 100+ hinds grazing on your best grass). However I am sure 99% of us who shoot for sport value and respect our wildlife and delight in seeing good numbers about. What we must not do is to make the mistake of viewing wildlife and the countryside as some sort of "Disneyland" which some seem to be doing. Unfortunately in this overpopulated land wildlife do come into conflict with man and therefore need to be managed, providing this is done sympathetically and without abuse it works. All that is required is that we all sing from the same hymn sheet and try to understand others needs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MC Posted March 24, 2011 Report Share Posted March 24, 2011 :blink: contradicting ones self BIG TIME Not really, But then why should you understand? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul223 Posted March 24, 2011 Report Share Posted March 24, 2011 Martin you shoot pigeons because you want to, the general license gives you an excuse too........ POT - KETTLE - BLACK of course what you fail to understand is some farmers are having real difficulties with geese, and because you judge others by your standards (as above ) you expect defra to remove canadas from the GL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
39TDS Posted March 24, 2011 Report Share Posted March 24, 2011 I'm a farmer and I shot a baby rabbit tonight. Should I have waited until it had got big and fat by eating my cabbages first? I would do the same to pigeons given half the chance. I have thousands of geese fly over my place but unless they start eating my crops I won't even shoot at them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Kelly Posted March 24, 2011 Report Share Posted March 24, 2011 (edited) I'm a farmer and I shot a baby rabbit tonight. Should I have waited until it had got big and fat by eating my cabbages first? I would do the same to pigeons given half the chance. I have thousands of geese fly over my place but unless they start eating my crops I won't even shoot at them. 99.9% of shooters would do exactly the same. This whole debate is a total fuss about nothing, because someone has a bee in his bonnet. Edited March 24, 2011 by Tim Kelly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave-G Posted March 24, 2011 Report Share Posted March 24, 2011 (edited) 99.9% of shooters would do exactly the same. This whole debate is a total fuss about nothing, because someone has a bee in his bonnet. I thought it was all about anser2 trying to cause landowners to feed and care for Geese by making them more complicated to control: This makes them bigger and easier to hit, so he and a few friends can exclusively fire pellets in the direction of moving quarry and hurt some of them sportingly hard enough to make them fall out of the sky just for the hell of it. Edited March 24, 2011 by Dave-G Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul223 Posted March 24, 2011 Report Share Posted March 24, 2011 I thought it was all about anser2 trying to cause landowners to feed and care for Geese by making them more complicated to control: This makes them bigger and easier to hit, so he and a few friends can exclusively fire pellets in the direction of moving quarry and hurt some of them sportingly hard enough to make them fall out of the sky just for the hell of it. thats about the top and bottom of it well said Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CharlieT Posted March 25, 2011 Report Share Posted March 25, 2011 I thought it was all about anser2 trying to cause landowners to feed and care for Geese by making them more complicated to control: This makes them bigger and easier to hit, so he and a few friends can exclusively fire pellets in the direction of moving quarry and hurt some of them sportingly hard enough to make them fall out of the sky just for the hell of it. This will defiantly be my nomination for "POST OF THE YEAR 2011". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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