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geese cull in Orkney


big bad lindz
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Well any visiting goose shooters will at least be able to buy one to take home if they have no luck & it could happen as the geese will be very wary this season , you can even tell a small white lie & say they got em ! :whistling: .

 

ATB Pole Star

 

 

PS I just had a chat with SNH & they say the shooters are licensed locals only doing it so no non resident guns or visitors or foreign tourists :whistling:

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  • 1 month later...

Shot geese from the cull are now available in Orkney so if you are unlucky or want a few more ask Raymond Shearer in Kirkwall , heard they are being made into bangers & burgers & all sorts ! , a great shop is Shearers you can buy any thing from a 3 shot pogo stick , ammo , cammo gear , fishing gear . dog food , & just about any thing , ok no 8 or 4 bore ammo or black powder so you will have to bring that your self :) .

 

Some one asked me about the goose meat but I cant remember who ? ATB Pole Star

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Hopefully it will be a success and well managed and in time be extended throughout Scotland so that you can buy geese during the season.

 

I was given Barnacle geese from the legal trial cull in Islay and they were delicious .

That would be closely followed by the wholesale slaughter of geese in Scotland

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I disagree Terry

 

Currently spiralling geese populations are being seen as pests with nobody interested in their management . Very few people see them as a viable wild food as they can't get them in their local butchers or game dealers. I did not say I wanted an unregulated open season it would have to be managed but I definitely would support a sustainable harvest .

 

They are a healthy food which we should utilise I would far rather goose meat in our school menu's than horse meat from Europe.

 

We manage our deer and it provides valuable rural jobs without a wholesale slaughter so why can't we do it with our geese ?

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The geese up here can not be sold by individual shooters chaps its all under the eyes of SNH & the RSPB & is all licensed accordingly so any numbers boys who think they can come here & shoot em for fun by the van load will be in for a shock if they try & sell them to pay for their trip :yes: .

 

Note its the local geese that are the problem . ATB Pole Star

 

I did hear some visiting numbers boys who are non resident visiting goose guides did try & get in on the act but its done by locals .

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I disagree Terry

 

Currently spiralling geese populations are being seen as pests with nobody interested in their management . Very few people see them as a viable wild food as they can't get them in their local butchers or game dealers. I did not say I wanted an unregulated open season it would have to be managed but I definitely would support a sustainable harvest .

 

They are a healthy food which we should utilise I would far rather goose meat in our school menu's than horse meat from Europe.

 

We manage our deer and it provides valuable rural jobs without a wholesale slaughter so why can't we do it with our geese ?

I would love to see geese on menues and also believe that we could manage and control the shooting of geese like we do deer, but how would we police it, whats to stop a visiting fowler with the aid of a goose guide shooting 40 pinks on a morning flight and selling them to pay for his trip. Unfortunatly greed would take over, geese would be harassed where ever they winter and would be massacred.

Its fairly easy I would have thought to control it on Orkney and I believe it was only the resident population that were to be culled, imagine trying to police the whole of Scotland.

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Hi pole star

 

I understand the situation in Orkney and agree it should be done initially by locals under licence. But the geese issue is not just on Orkney it is all over the west coast of Scotland . Am I right in also saying that your getting the numbers boys currently so allowing the sale of wild goose meat isn't going to make that any worse . It could actually make it better if landowners saw some value in the geese on their fields ? and managed the number of guns ?

 

The last thing I want is slaughter of geese but the laws at the moment are not working.

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Hi pole star

 

I understand the situation in Orkney and agree it should be done initially by locals under licence. But the geese issue is not just on Orkney it is all over the west coast of Scotland . Am I right in also saying that your getting the numbers boys currently so allowing the sale of wild goose meat isn't going to make that any worse . It could actually make it better if landowners saw some value in the geese on their fields ? and managed the number of guns ?

 

The last thing I want is slaughter of geese but the laws at the moment are not working.

 

Hello geenshank

I don't know if you have read any of my past posts on the geese in Orkney ? the geese that stay all year are with out doubt a problem & need their numbers controlled , about 3 years ago there was 5acres of barley by the loch below my cottage which was completely stripped off & every time I put them off it they would scramble back into the loch & wait off shore in a huge flotilla looking up at me just waiting for me to go away & then they would slowly paddle in & walk back up & munch away !!.

 

No farmer would tolerate that from rabbits would they ? I don't want to see them slaughtered & I loath the way they get treated by some visitors ,

I can only speak from my own observations & what I see whereabouts I live .

 

ATB Pole Star

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Just to add to the above the Icelandic birds seem to be coming in now as there few more about & 2 visitors just left with a number of geese that exceed BASC guidelines for 2 days or so shooting but I would say they would be mostly local geese but then maybe not ? . Some farmers & land owners regulate their land here & who goes on it & what they shoot & some don't really care !.

 

When I first looked on pigeon watch I found a very misleading post on here that said < go to Orkney to shoot geese its all free & you can shoot where you like ! & there is hundreds of miles of fore shore to shoot ! > , nothing could be further from the truth :mad: all land here belongs to some one just like the rest of the UK but one slight variation concerning Orkney & Shetland is the foreshore & that is, the land owner owns it to the low water mark .

Thats why I joined to set the record straight , you only have to see the posts on dotted about PW from the resident shooters to see they are unhappy with what is going on ? perhaps some may comment here ??? .

I think its only a matter of time before some free loaders are going to get nicked & the sooner the better , so if you come up here treat the place, the locals , the land owners & the local shooters & the birds with the respect they deserve & don't get greedy ! AMEN & have a nice visit .

 

ps do not forget the selling of grey geese is illegal

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they are not being wasted this year the Scottish government have granted a few of us special licenses to sell the meat. A local butcher up here is making burgers and sausages and they have been flying off the shelves. The meat can only be sold from birds that are shot in the cull by the cull team members tho

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they are not being wasted this year the Scottish government have granted a few of us special licenses to sell the meat. A local butcher up here is making burgers and sausages and they have been flying off the shelves. The meat can only be sold from birds that are shot in the cull by the cull team members tho

 

I heard some disturbing news today :sad1: some being buried , just have to get it confirmed ?

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  • 2 weeks later...

I think he can only process so many as he has a small scale facility this year and I think the west boys are shooting to many :no::blush::/:whistling:

 

Hello Chopwylie & nice to see your post , the recent load of geese that were blatantly wasted were not part of the cull they were wasted by a newbie guide from the mainland who brought with him 2 King Kong small brained & small w#"*Y types who want more than the next man so they can put em selves on an ego busting trip ! .

I dont have a problem with the cull named local guns doing this but it seems word has got around that you can come to Orkney & shoot hundreds of geese & its ok !.

 

A pick up was intercepted in my lane yesterday with 4 chaps who believed the shooting in Orkney was all free ! , I sent em down too your farm :lol: (only kidding ) , well they were politely told you have to get permission first just like the mainland or they will get em selves in trouble .

 

I just can not understand why empty head numbers boys want to come here & shoot a 100plus geese then stand over the slain & pose for pics to go on FB as they beat their chests like the apes that they are ! , why the hell dont they breast them out & use the meat or even give to some one who will ?.

 

ATB Pole Star ps I ate goose burgers last night & nothing wrong with them

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Hello Chopwylie & nice to see your post , the recent load of geese that were blatantly wasted were not part of the cull they were wasted by a newbie guide from the mainland who brought with him 2 King Kong small brained & small w#"*Y types who want more than the next man so they can put em selves on an ego busting trip ! .

I dont have a problem with the cull named local guns doing this but it seems word has got around that you can come to Orkney & shoot hundreds of geese & its ok !.

 

A pick up was intercepted in my lane yesterday with 4 chaps who believed the shooting in Orkney was all free ! , I sent em down too your farm :lol: (only kidding ) , well they were politely told you have to get permission first just like the mainland or they will get em selves in trouble .

 

I just can not understand why empty head numbers boys want to come here & shoot a 100plus geese then stand over the slain & pose for pics to go on FB as they beat their chests like the apes that they are ! , why the hell dont they breast them out & use the meat or even give to some one who will ?.

 

ATB Pole Star ps I ate goose burgers last night & nothing wrong with them

Because they are just that Carl, bone head numbers boys, they are not interested in learning to call, field craft, respect. They just want to turn up be driven to the field, put in a hide and blaze away, they will never be sated, they will always want a better trip next time, and I loathe everything they stand for.

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Because they are just that Carl, bone head numbers boys, they are not interested in learning to call, field craft, respect. They just want to turn up be driven to the field, put in a hide and blaze away, they will never be sated, they will always want a better trip next time, and I loathe everything they stand for.

 

That sums em up Terry , I have noticed complaints on Pigeon Watch about FB pics of vast numbers of geese shot by a visiting guides clients & I think a certain guide who operates via FB might be the source of those pictures so look out for the 100 plus pic that might be coming soon ? .

 

I know some will growl when I say this but the sooner we have regional bag limits set yearly then the better ,they work in other countries then there is every reason they can work here , perhaps then we will have a case to get some of the species we have lost back on the quarry list & back on the menu ? .

While we have GREEDY Guides & small W>>>Y numbers boys throwing wildfowl into a dead pit then getting brent geese & curlew ect back is a lost cause .

 

ATB Pole Star will pm you Terry

 

PS Bag limits & conservation came too late for the Passenger Pigeon in the USA pity !

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Hi Guys - just read your posts and my heart goes out to you. Surely there must be enough local lads to guide any visiting shooters that wish to shoot geese in Orkney. Who is allowing outsiders to 'Guide' parties without control and how can geese be buried without the landowners knowledge. Obviously some sort of regulation or accepted shooting practice must be established by Orkney residents otherwise you will get a continuous flood of mainland numpty's coming over causing havoc. The next thing will be the parties of non UK residents that have a reputation for shooting anything that moves. They have already ruined some goose roosts in Scotland by wading out onto the roost to shoot at geese on the water and this is in an area that is fairly well monitored so imagine what could happen in Orkney.

 

You have a wonderful opportunity to take control of a valuable resource, that if properly managed can produce revenue for the Islands inhabitants for many many years and at the same time keeping the numbers of breeding geese to an acceptable level. Anyone shooting geese in Orkney, or anywhere else for that matter should be licensed and their licence should reflect their position, either visiting or local and this distinction should also govern the number of geese they are allowed to take. Landowners could be given the responsibility to control this and earn revenue as a result. All licences could carry information about the number allowed and the landowner fills in the bag number at the end of each flight. This way anyone caught with excess geese can be prosecuted which can bring in more revenue.

 

Sorry I'm going on a bit but if the Orkney Islanders/landowners have a problem with too many geese or too many shooters, they have an ideal opportunity to do something about it, with the help of the authorities, and make additional revenue for the Islands.

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...some sort of regulation or accepted shooting practice must be established by Orkney residents otherwise you will get a continuous flood of mainland numpty's coming over causing havoc. The next thing will be the parties of non UK residents that have a reputation for shooting anything that moves...

 

That already happens every season. Respectful visiting shooters like myself who take no more than geese per flight seem to be in the minority.

 

I think the interested parties should set up an Orkney Wildfowlers' Association, affiliate every single landowner and have an opt-in scheme for those landowners who are happy for members or permit holders to access their land. Apply bag limits and employ a warden.That would keep the filth out.

 

I was speaking to an old gent at my work last week, he shot his first grouse in Orkney in 1954 and said he could shoot anywhere - there was never any question of asking for permission - unfortunately some visiting guns think that's still the case. Some are guided, and it is likely that the phrases 'armed trespass' 'protected species' 'no electronic callers' and 'no five shot autos' are lost in translation.

 

The difficulty is that shooting big bags is positively encouraged in some cases, as the geese are such a problem for the farmers there. So you have people behaving like it's a free-for-all, and that is bound to end in disaster.

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Hi Guys - just read your posts and my heart goes out to you. Surely there must be enough local lads to guide any visiting shooters that wish to shoot geese in Orkney. Who is allowing outsiders to 'Guide' parties without control and how can geese be buried without the landowners knowledge. Obviously some sort of regulation or accepted shooting practice must be established by Orkney residents otherwise you will get a continuous flood of mainland numpty's coming over causing havoc. The next thing will be the parties of non UK residents that have a reputation for shooting anything that moves. They have already ruined some goose roosts in Scotland by wading out onto the roost to shoot at geese on the water and this is in an area that is fairly well monitored so imagine what could happen in Orkney.

 

You have a wonderful opportunity to take control of a valuable resource, that if properly managed can produce revenue for the Islands inhabitants for many many years and at the same time keeping the numbers of breeding geese to an acceptable level. Anyone shooting geese in Orkney, or anywhere else for that matter should be licensed and their licence should reflect their position, either visiting or local and this distinction should also govern the number of geese they are allowed to take. Landowners could be given the responsibility to control this and earn revenue as a result. All licences could carry information about the number allowed and the landowner fills in the bag number at the end of each flight. This way anyone caught with excess geese can be prosecuted which can bring in more revenue.

 

Sorry I'm going on a bit but if the Orkney Islanders/landowners have a problem with too many geese or too many shooters, they have an ideal opportunity to do something about it, with the help of the authorities, and make additional revenue for the Islands.

 

Its like this Celtic invader we have had an increasing number of idiots coming here to shoot & some visiting guides & I think they must think " ORKNEY ! a remote place like that , we could get away with any thing & no one would see us ! " . My God how wrong they are & up here the RSPB is big & they have a lot of reserves all over Orkney but idiot numbers boys & certain visiting persons from the boot shaped country think its a case of help your self , wrong because they are being watched & if a flea farts in Orkney every one hears about it including the RSPB .

So any visiting guns better behave them selves & play by the rules & all will be well , respectable guns are not a problem :good: but the others just get us bad press & we don't need it . ATB Pole Star

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ya lads your all right i'm afraid. I'm lucky enough to have learned my trade back late 80's early nineties when everybody went outside to see a big V of greylags heading south and they wouldn't even give Orkney a 2nd glance. But i'm afraid the new generation of wildfowler(or should I say somebody with a gun) are very spoilt now its seems to be a poor morning if you only shoot 15. But it is the way things are now and we have to get on with it. As for more people coming here to shoot I think they are beginning to struggle. I spoke to one crew last week that were willing to pay me for a field I booked with a farm for the cull. I told him to check fields sooner than the night before he wanted to shoot it. must be desperate before you need to buy somebody else's permission eh? LOL.

That's the cull finished now and I think the 3 teams had just under 2000 geese for the two months just under a 1000 shot in the west mainland alone. not confirmed the numbers from commercial parties from September yet but I have a meeting in November so I will know more then. The freezers are well stocked with the culled birds so hopefully there will be sausages and burgers for a peedie! while yet.

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ya lads your all right i'm afraid. I'm lucky enough to have learned my trade back late 80's early nineties when everybody went outside to see a big V of greylags heading south and they wouldn't even give Orkney a 2nd glance. But i'm afraid the new generation of wildfowler(or should I say somebody with a gun) are very spoilt now its seems to be a poor morning if you only shoot 15. But it is the way things are now and we have to get on with it. As for more people coming here to shoot I think they are beginning to struggle. I spoke to one crew last week that were willing to pay me for a field I booked with a farm for the cull. I told him to check fields sooner than the night before he wanted to shoot it. must be desperate before you need to buy somebody else's permission eh? LOL.

That's the cull finished now and I think the 3 teams had just under 2000 geese for the two months just under a 1000 shot in the west mainland alone. not confirmed the numbers from commercial parties from September yet but I have a meeting in November so I will know more then. The freezers are well stocked with the culled birds so hopefully there will be sausages and burgers for a peedie! while yet.

 

Great to hear they are being used even if they are a lot of work , & for practical reasons the local geese are about 2000 less which can only be good for the farmers in Orkney . Lets hope any further visitors treat this Island & the quarry they seek ect with respect & take home the geese they shoot . ATB Pole Star

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