worthy130 Posted June 16, 2012 Report Share Posted June 16, 2012 I have been shooting many years, I am now a Gamekeeper and can't help but wonder if the handing out of certificates has incresed negativly, I read lots of posts about new FAC applications for rabbit control (as rabbits are in abundance) and the odd fox, have people forgotten that foxes do infact control Rabbits? so why shoot the only fox you see? I as a keeper control foxes but i think we have to be careful as, as certificate numbers go up, the natural predetors goes down. Lets face it, in alot of areas foxes are not a problem, but where they are a suitible shotgun/rifle/competent shooter is required. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scolopax Posted June 16, 2012 Report Share Posted June 16, 2012 Well some folk just like to kill whatever is a legal target. Fortunately most grow out of it and become more selective. I think it is a trasition that I heard best described by a fisherman, "when I first started I wanted to catch lots of fish, then after that I wanted to catch the big fish, but gradually my attitude changed again, and I wanted to catch the difficult fish" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gimlet Posted June 16, 2012 Report Share Posted June 16, 2012 I've often thought about this and got rebuked for expressing similar sentiments on another forum. Having read Robert Bucknell's books its hard to argue against his analysis and the need to shoot every fox seen, but I do think the hunting ban (whether or not hunting was an effective means of control- and I don't know one way or the other) has given justification for large numbers of 'foxing calibre' applications from people who just want to have fun with a CF and wouldn't get an unmentored deer calibre. Whether all these extra fox hunters will prove a good thing a not only time will tell, but I'm sure there's far more fire power about in the countryside than there is knowledge. :yp: Cue 'you're worse than the antis, why don't shooters stick together' stuff. I too find it hard to take against a fox when I see him with a young rabbit in his mouth though I find my best allies against rabbits are birds of prey, particularly buzzards and tawny owls and I'm still trying to fathom the relationships going on when foxes and rabbits are practically sharing the same tunnels without apparent conflict. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sitsinhedges Posted June 17, 2012 Report Share Posted June 17, 2012 I have a couple of shoots where the foxes are left alone because the game isn't shot but all it does is create a breeding station that the syndicate shoots next door have to suffer the consequences of. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DNS Posted June 17, 2012 Report Share Posted June 17, 2012 Good post. I shoot - but only birds which I eat. I don't participate in my shoot's few 'vermin days', because they are not sufficient to make a difference to 'vermin' levels on our 300 acres. I do not shoot corvids because they are 'nest robbers', because there is a healthy population of songbirds in my area. Shoot all the magpies and I'd be knee- deep in blue tits. Some shoot anything they legally can because they want to. It's a personal choice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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