Totally unacceptable

[RossEM]

Horrendous if it's true.

[Klammer]

I never thought I would open my account on here with a rant, but here goes....

 

There is no justification at all, for this slaughter, to use the pest control argument may have a slight one but, shooting a few would get them moving. There is not a week goes by when the pinks are here, that i do not come across stories, saying that inland goose shooters have shot this many or that many. And it's always a good few. These people are guides, that's it, they are not wildfowlers, they take anyone out for the money, prostituting themselves in the process. People ask me sometimes if i think wildfowling will be banned someday, yes it will, because of horror stories like this, and the so called "professional guides" who profit from it. I know a lot of shooters who go inland goose shooting, maybe because they live far from a foreshore or do not wish to traipse 3 miles there and 3 miles back, with the possiblity of no shots, but they still have the utmost respect for what they shoot, only taking what they need, or have been asked to do.

K

To quote my father "a goose shot on the foreshore, is worth twenty inland"

[grahamch]

The problems here are as I see it are:

 

• wild geese cannot be sold (other than an exemption in Orkney this season) so will go to waste;
• pheasants are reared, are not a 'wild' resource that is shared internationally and can be sold;
• wood pigeoans can be sold and are defined as a pest species;
• the pointless slaughter of such large numbers of geese will give our sport some very negative publicity when we dont need it;
• the BASC are sadly powerless to do anything about it;
• maybe the landowner concerned want to make money and get rid of his apparent goose 'problem' without using other methods;
• it matters little if the guns concerned with UK based or from overseas, they were irresponsible and have no respect for the geese, they may as well have gone clay shooting.

 

Why not have bag limits? It may be better than having our sport outlawed because of the action of the lunatic few.

Edited October 10, 2013 by grahamch

[sako751sg]

Thankfully times have changed and hopefully the majority of guides limit to a reasonable bag but still some show no restraint to make that extra pound.I saw a pic on FB last week of one guide up here who had 3 guns shoot 96 which imo is shocking nowadays but has happened up here for the last 20+ years.I think in the case of pinks and greys you cant really compare to pigeons as their feeding grounds on the whole are way more restricted and I know here they are hounded every day and have to go far enough to get a bit of peace.Also,in the winter daylight hours are minimum and too many folk shoot them to the last skein is on the go thus giving them little time to find somewhere appropriate and get their fill.Had a couple of days on the game with Mark Robson last week and we had a morning flight,and was packing up at 07.45 giving them time to settle again after giving us some good shooting which imo is the right way and its a pity more don't take a leaf oot of his book.Whats the name of the guide involved?

[artschool]

If its true, he is a very irresponsible BANFF guide, unfortunately its pure greed...money its a wild beast that can't be tamed, why the capitol letters on the Foreign I don't understand.

 

Mark

 

 

Why the capital letters for Banff... it's a place

British Association of Nice Foreign Fowlers

[Highbird70]

 

 

British Association of Nice Foreign Fowlers

LOL

[Essex Keeper]

http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/home-news/geese-threat-to-future-of-island-crofts.20708952

[WGD]

Had a couple of days on the game with Mark Robson last week

What you do in your spare time is up to you pal! Lol

[Pole Star]

You mark my words Gentlemen if this sort of thing continues in Orkney & in Scotland some smart alec journalist trying to make a name for himself will get a story & film of this vile practice even if he has to infiltrate his way in & you may see his smug gloating face on the BBC news or Country File or in the national press

 

We must put our own house in order please for Gods sake ! before we all get tared with same brush & have to face the hunt sabs ALF & all the other weirdos & they start to do dawn raids on the marsh ect just to muck up your day . . Note similar things have happened before . PLEASE WAKE UP !

Edited October 10, 2013 by Pole Star

[Pole Star]

Just to add if farmers on the Scottish mainland have a problem with geese then perhaps they should approach Scottish Natural Heritage , NFU , & the RSPB to find a way forward , as it was in Orkney . This was done recently in Shetland just in case the goose numbers there become a agricultural problem , at the moment it is managed by the local guns & at the meeting I understand it was stated they do not want incomer goose guides .

 

So be warned the greedy because you might just get a rough ride from the Shetlanders .

[wildfowler.250]

Thankfully times have changed and hopefully the majority of guides limit to a reasonable bag but still some show no restraint to make that extra pound.I saw a pic on FB last week of one guide up here who had 3 guns shoot 96 which imo is shocking nowadays but has happened up here for the last 20+ years.I think in the case of pinks and greys you cant really compare to pigeons as their feeding grounds on the whole are way more restricted and I know here they are hounded every day and have to go far enough to get a bit of peace.Also,in the winter daylight hours are minimum and too many folk shoot them to the last skein is on the go thus giving them little time to find somewhere appropriate and get their fill.Had a couple of days on the game with Mark Robson last week and we had a morning flight,and was packing up at 07.45 giving them time to settle again after giving us some good shooting which imo is the right way and its a pity more don't take a leaf oot of his book.Whats the name of the guide involved?

Was that pic on a fb page or someone you know?

[sako751sg]

Was that pic on a fb page or someone you know?

Someone I know of,as will most folk on here.It was on a fowling page and that's how it appeared.

[strangford wildfowler]

u typed all that when you could of just quoted him on it......eh!!!

Its was qouted but when I posted tje comment it came up like that

[Kes]

I'm interested to know peoples opinions on why shooting 100 pigeons in a session is a red letter day but shooting 100 geese is disgusting?

 

Is it because of the waste?

Pigeons number millions and are always a pest - geese number at best hundreds of thousands and generally are not regarded as such. you can sell pigeons, you cant sell geese so why shoot them as 'sport'. Control populations by other methods or by specific culling as in Orkney but to shoot 700 and call it sport is sick.

[Archie-fox]

you only have to look in the sporting pics over the last week,

 

one "group" have shot over 300ish geese...how can that amount of geese be used???

[Kes]

If self-control is absent then maximum bag limits should be applied and made statutury, except for culls, naturally.

[RossEM]

The game laws need a massive overhaul* and bag limits could be a part of it (that's how market gunning was stopped in the US (along with banning anything bigger than 10 bore on waterfowl)...unfortunately DavidBASC tells me this would probably leave us open to misdirected restriction...

 

*A few suggestions: closed season for hares, getting rid of sunday shooting bans, moving pheasant & partridge seasons forward a month, putting various birds back on the general licence and some off the protected list, and of course bag limits on duck & geese

[Pole Star]

The game laws need a massive overhaul* and bag limits could be a part of it (that's how market gunning was stopped in the US (along with banning anything bigger than 10 bore on waterfowl)...unfortunately DavidBASC tells me this would probably leave us open to misdirected restriction...

 

*A few suggestions: closed season for hares, getting rid of sunday shooting bans, moving pheasant & partridge seasons forward a month, putting various birds back on the general licence and some off the protected list, and of course bag limits on duck & geese

 

This one is a difficult can of worms Ross , no one wants bag limits but with the carry on by a few that I see I can see government intervention coming one day .

 

Bag limits & close seasons came too late for the American passenger pigeon true or false I wonder ?

[scotslad]

If it is so easy to scare geese off the fields how is it possible to shoot over 100 a day every day for a week?

There is plenty of talk of shooting 1 or 2 and putting bangers up but if there coming in so hard its possible to shoot 100 i doubt a banger or some cd's is going to work.

 

There is talk about bag limits, someone mentioned 10 geese. How do u know there wasn't a party of 10 guns?

 

It's all very well ranting on here (and i must admit i don't agree with it and it's not something i'd do) but put urself in the farmers position.

 

I spoke to someone i know a few years ago to give him a hard time about shooting big bags, he had just shot 200 odd between 2 off them, he said been going to the same farm for 20 years shooting similar ammounts every week or 2, if he didn't do it someone else woulld and he would lose the shooting.

 

Ross above on 1 hand u want to protect the geese but on the other u want to shoot pheasants 7 days a week and for an extra month not giving them any peace to recover for breeding, seems a bit of a contradiction

Even the close season on hares isn't a very good idea, is already inplace in scotland but it means u have to shoot all hares in advance incase u get crop damage so are encourged to shoot more and have fewer hares on ground, whereas if u can shot whenever, u can ony shoot the bare minium wot u think u need to, leaving plenty but if u get a problem u can sort it easily in any problem areas

[RossEM]

If it is so easy to scare geese off the fields how is it possible to shoot over 100 a day every day for a week?

There is plenty of talk of shooting 1 or 2 and putting bangers up but if there coming in so hard its possible to shoot 100 i doubt a banger or some cd's is going to work.

 

There is talk about bag limits, someone mentioned 10 geese. How do u know there wasn't a party of 10 guns?

 

It's all very well ranting on here (and i must admit i don't agree with it and it's not something i'd do) but put urself in the farmers position.

 

I spoke to someone i know a few years ago to give him a hard time about shooting big bags, he had just shot 200 odd between 2 off them, he said been going to the same farm for 20 years shooting similar ammounts every week or 2, if he didn't do it someone else woulld and he would lose the shooting.

 

Ross above on 1 hand u want to protect the geese but on the other u want to shoot pheasants 7 days a week and for an extra month not giving them any peace to recover for breeding, seems a bit of a contradiction

Even the close season on hares isn't a very good idea, is already inplace in scotland but it means u have to shoot all hares in advance incase u get crop damage so are encourged to shoot more and have fewer hares on ground, whereas if u can shot whenever, u can ony shoot the bare minium wot u think u need to, leaving plenty but if u get a problem u can sort it easily in any problem areas

Should've made it clearer, I think pheasant partridge season should start November 1 and end March 1, too many young birds about this time of year. The estate I work near just had a partridge shoot and some of them aren't even in full adult plumage, thankfully they leave the pheasants til November anyway. Must admit hares hardly damage crops around here as there aren't many about, I suppose it's different in other areas.

[Pole Star]

If it is so easy to scare geese off the fields how is it possible to shoot over 100 a day every day for a week?

There is plenty of talk of shooting 1 or 2 and putting bangers up but if there coming in so hard its possible to shoot 100 i doubt a banger or some cd's is going to work.

 

There is talk about bag limits, someone mentioned 10 geese. How do u know there wasn't a party of 10 guns?

 

It's all very well ranting on here (and i must admit i don't agree with it and it's not something i'd do) but put urself in the farmers position.

 

I spoke to someone i know a few years ago to give him a hard time about shooting big bags, he had just shot 200 odd between 2 off them, he said been going to the same farm for 20 years shooting similar ammounts every week or 2, if he didn't do it someone else woulld and he would lose the shooting.

 

Ross above on 1 hand u want to protect the geese but on the other u want to shoot pheasants 7 days a week and for an extra month not giving them any peace to recover for breeding, seems a bit of a contradiction

Even the close season on hares isn't a very good idea, is already inplace in scotland but it means u have to shoot all hares in advance incase u get crop damage so are encourged to shoot more and have fewer hares on ground, whereas if u can shot whenever, u can ony shoot the bare minium wot u think u need to, leaving plenty but if u get a problem u can sort it easily in any problem areas

 

Its a case getting the balance & practice right scotslad as far as the geese are concerned if you just scare them they then move on to another farm & munch away there & so it goes on , so what is the limit on bags ? is shooting over 120 & chucking them into a dead pit good practice ? . This goose meat could be used by some one & I am happy to see the meat from the Orkney goose cull being sold up here but what I & other better thinking goose shooters don't like seeing is just a load of mere yobs coming up here & pretending to be anti aircraft gunners & thinking they are great men & are among the wildfowling greats .

Its a sad waste & if these morons just enjoy killing things why don't they just get them selves a job in a slaughter house & leave goose shooting to those who know some respect .

At the end of the loch where I live is the roost & that thank God is the RSPB reserve & the morons have no access to it other wise they would screw that up like they have in other places . Rant over for now .

[wildfowler.250]

Don't have time to write a proper reply but the guys that are saying the birds just move off to another farm isn't strictly true. Sometimes if they really want to hit an area they will clear off and then come back. Now fair enough to shoot them,(or at them). But there's a difference between shooting the odd bird out of each skien and four guys trying to shoot 12 out of every group..

 

And do you think that the guys in question would even care about bag limits if they were imposed? You're just penalising the "good ones" by doing that.

[scotslad]

Fair play, i'm not agreeing with it but like others have said many folk will go out and shoot hundreds of rabbits and pigeons in a day/nite

 

That lad i know who shots 3 figures at a time does use all the breast's which was my big objection to it aswell, but some of these guides will be taking multiple parties out of fairly large numbers of guns, even with bag limits still talking a lot of birds.

And u are right there is a lot of people out there who it is all about the numbers and don't appreciate just being out there with nature, it's not right. But posibly all these goose guides which are more and more common are making it easier for a differnt type of person to come out?

 

Not an easy 1 to really solve, like wildfowler just said not always that easy to scare away. The lad i know only shoots on his own or with 1 other gun and shoots large bags the geese must just keep coming in. just got to do wot u think is right and moral to u and lets others get on with it, if they have no morals or respect its their loss

The sad fact is that money often talks and corrupts

 

This is way of topic

 

But thats up to the estates to put there birds out earlier, we shot on sat, usually an outside day but birds were looking so well we done most off the drives. Hens have been ready for weeks cocks heads are fully turned white collars and tails so nothing wrong with cocks either and flew well. Itf birds out by mid july and in decent sized pens with plenty pellets won't be far off by now

If u intro sunday shooting just means keepers beaters and pickers up will be forced to work 7 days a week and birds/woods never get a chance to rest, its not fair on the people who work hard enough already or the wildlife.

 

Surely by march partridge are well paired up and pheasants will be forming harem's esp further south where spring is earlier. i think only fair to give the surviving birds a bit off a rest also gives stalkers valuable time to finish the does on the more commercial type shoots

I for 1 would not welcome any extension to seasons usually out 2+ days a week from 12th onwards usually very happy come mid jan and can seeing season coming to an end.

 

I know 1 estate had to apply for an out off season licence to cull hares as sustaining a lot of damage, hares are usually left alone if possible and do very well, the licence was granted but if it wasn't the estate would have to shoot the hares far harder incase their was a possible problem months down the line. The problem for hares is poaching courseing and the landowners/keepers who wipe them out to stop that. Not right but understandable from their point of view

Edited October 10, 2013 by scotslad

[delburt0]

If I shot 2 geese pf the shore I'd stop and enjoy the rest of the flight wi the gun in the slip big bags don't interest me. That guide needs a slap across the face with a telegraph pole for allowing that to happen

+1 I always ask the farmer as he occasionally wants 1 or if no one asks me for 1 I don't shoot them unless I want 1 for myself , I find it a huge waste not preparing edible quarry. Edited October 10, 2013 by delburt0

[wildfowler.250]

Just to add...and I'm not saying its justified..

 

But surely there's always been a small minority that have always shot excessive bags on geese? And the population of pinks seems to be on the up? So besides the unethical/bad PR/meet wastage issue, at least the population of geese hasn't crashed?