Can Canada's be shot year round?

Big Mat · February 23, 2014

If wildfowlers had their way it would be, and no doubt a full life sentence as well.

I think you've missed kents point. Seen as they are Canada geese and no Canadians, i suspect we'd all be up before the courts if we starting shooting Canadians :lol:

Dekers · February 23, 2014

I think you've missed kents point. Seen as they are Canada geese and no Canadians, i suspect we'd all be up before the courts if we starting shooting Canadians

:yes: :yes: :good:

You are correct...missed that!

kent · February 23, 2014

There are many non native species in the wild in this country which according to the W&C Act can/should be shot on sight...then we go an introduce seasons for many, the latest to be credited a season to my knowledge being the CWD.

Strange a man of you profession does not seem to understand though I rather suspect the post is for effect. Geese (of non protected species) can be shot IN SEASON ONLY but may not be sold nor may any part of them. with the exception of under the annual general licence, as you should well know general licence comes with conditions. No were on the general licence does it say "shoot on sight" or even "should be shot", in deed quite the reverse it says consider other non lethal means and as we all know or should know you also need a real reason ( I do not shoot woodies here as I am a full 30 miles from any crop other than grass) To do otherwise how could it comply?.

Canada geese can be a pest, on school playing fields etc they can leave great big droppings that pose a threat to health when present in numbers and they can paddle up and eat quite a bit of crop (again under the general licence we must consider non-lythal means and most importantly control within season).

Geese pair very closely and are very loyal to their chosen mate, only a callous or person ignorant of that fact might not consider that fact and choose (yes at the end of Feb that "choose" word is appropriate) to shoot them at a time they are looking to raise their young. Pigeon are the number 1 agricultural pest in the UK yet still many choose respect a sort of unofficial season during nesting. We still have 5 months to cull Canada geese inland and although I personally might still cull birds that appeared out of the blue and started to create real issues, I could not justify abusing the General licence to extend a shooting season or to complete a cull that should have been done and over before the end of January.

Wildfowlers tend to understand their quarry as without understanding little sport will be had below the high water mark and with that understanding comes great respect, its not about conserving numbers for next year that I do not believe as although most clubs have a daily limit on Grey geese non I know of have a limit on Canada as to do so might land us in for criticism and rightly so because they are non migratory within the UK, unlike the other geese (with the exception of feral Greylag, also now being culled in areas on special general licence). I don't know if people are aware of the fact that the UK once held a goodly stock of resident UK greylag that were shot / hunted out in the days of the muzzle loader. The last remaining were captured from a small part of Scotland and transported around the uk to places like the Cheshire meres to re-populate, these effectively creating todays non-migratory greylag. I do not wish to see the Canada go the same route, it would be more of a loss than a gain.

Do others honestly want to see the last Canada fly in the UK? Just because it is an introduced species? It was introduced a long, long time ago onto estate lakes because frankly its a darn grand looking bird. Personally I do not if you have the wit to take a look they are you will see a very fine bird and it can still enlightened your day as a skien flies over head honking away with their Ah-ONK! like a giant fleet of French taxis

Dekers · February 23, 2014

Strange a man of you profession does not seem to understand though I rather suspect the post is for effect. Geese (of non protected species) can be shot IN SEASON ONLY but may not be sold nor may any part of them. with the exception of under the annual general licence, as you should well know general licence comes with conditions. No were on the general licence does it say "shoot on sight" or even "should be shot", in deed quite the reverse it says consider other non lethal means and as we all know or should know you also need a real reason ( I do not shoot woodies here as I am a full 30 miles from any crop other than grass) To do otherwise how could it comply?.

Canada geese can be a pest, on school playing fields etc they can leave great big droppings that pose a threat to health when present in numbers and they can paddle up and eat quite a bit of crop (again under the general licence we must consider non-lythal means and most importantly control within season).

Geese pair very closely and are very loyal to their chosen mate, only a callous or person ignorant of that fact might not consider that fact and choose (yes at the end of Feb that "choose" word is appropriate) to shoot them at a time they are looking to raise their young. Pigeon are the number 1 agricultural pest in the UK yet still many choose respect a sort of unofficial season during nesting. We still have 5 months to cull Canada geese inland and although I personally might still cull birds that appeared out of the blue and started to create real issues, I could not justify abusing the General licence to extend a shooting season or to complete a cull that should have been done and over before the end of January.

Wildfowlers tend to understand their quarry as without understanding little sport will be had below the high water mark and with that understanding comes great respect, its not about conserving numbers for next year that I do not believe as although most clubs have a daily limit on Grey geese non I know of have a limit on Canada as to do so might land us in for criticism and rightly so because they are non migratory within the UK, unlike the other geese (with the exception of feral Greylag, also now being culled in areas on special general licence). I don't know if people are aware of the fact that the UK once held a goodly stock of resident UK greylag that were shot / hunted out in the days of the muzzle loader. The last remaining were captured from a small part of Scotland and transported around the uk to places like the Cheshire meres to re-populate, these effectively creating todays non-migratory greylag. I do not wish to see the Canada go the same route, it would be more of a loss than a gain.

Do others honestly want to see the last Canada fly in the UK? Just because it is an introduced species? It was introduced a long, long time ago onto estate lakes because frankly its a darn grand looking bird. Personally I do not if you have the wit to take a look they are you will see a very fine bird and it can still enlightened your day as a skien flies over head honking away with their Ah-ONK! like a giant fleet of French taxis

:lol: :lol: :lol:

You could have saved yourself a lot of typing if you simply read my post! I was talking about the W&C Act and resident non native species, I think you were the only one that missed that.

Edited February 23, 2014 by Dekers

kent · February 23, 2014

And i would put all of them in the same boat. Don't get me wrong, i love sporting shooting. However i think we should do everything we can to promote species which are wild bred and native through habitat improvement. That would mean english partridge, wild grouse, reds and roe, pigeons, etc. Pheasants are a man made population in this country (despite being naturalized citizens). If stocking/rearing was stopped 100% the populations would plummet as most of the land here isn't good habitat. Surely that doesn't indicate a species fit for location.

Rick

Did you know the English Roe is actually an introduced animal? It was hunted out in England in the past, the re-introduction started on an island in Lake Windermere (the gorget patch indicates introduced blood) Small stocks non the less remained in Scotland, if they might ever repopulated the rest of the UK is in serious doubt though. Fallow, Sika, CWD, Munties all introduced- are you suggesting we might be better off without them all? The French partridge has not pushed the grey out of so many areas, farming practice has. Pheasants are as much a part of the English countryside as a buttercup or daisy (do we remove the non-native plants also why we are at it) Heck is your native land about to remove such things? I fear an armed uprising if they try! The Rabbit is an introduced species, fine it is a serious pest but it provides great sport and at one time was about all the working man had to go at. Our land cannot go back in time and if it did it should be a poorer place for it IMO. The Canada goose fits in nicely unlike the American gifts of the Grey Squirrel and the Mink, it creates no conflict with other native residents- it is no Cane toad

Edited February 23, 2014 by kent

Dekers · February 23, 2014

So, selective introduction of non native species depending upon what kent wants. :lol: :lol:

You need to take a trip along the Thames (and many other areas) or tips or golf courses or stables or farms etc etc round here to see the Canada does cause an issue and is treated with the same contempt and distain at the grey and the mink, they are a problem pest species which is taking (taken) over here and by its nature is causing problems to other species. Large swathes of the country are being taken over by the Canada where many species were historically seen!

kent · February 23, 2014

So, selective introduction of non native species depending upon what kent wants.

You need to take a trip along the Thames (and many other areas) or tips or golf courses or stables or farms etc etc round here to see the Canada does cause an issue and is treated with the same contempt and distain at the grey and the mink, they are a problem pest species which is taking (taken) over here and by its nature is causing problems to other species. Large swathes of the country are being taken over by the Canada where many species were historically seen!

They were here way before us! So no what I am saying is we should be a poorer place without them, they are not a failed introduction. We have seen your footage of blasting them from a boat in their flightless stage, its just killing frankly. I understand why as you reside and work in a suburban area and lack the facility or inclination to control their numbers during the 5 months they are fully legal and can escape slaughter by flight, like all fowl they habituate to human presence very quickly meaning they are very easy targets for those unwilling or unable to except them on sporting terms.

Dekers · February 23, 2014

They were here way before us! So no what I am saying is we should be a poorer place without them, they are not a failed introduction. We have seen your footage of blasting them from a boat in their flightless stage, its just killing frankly. I understand why as you reside and work in a suburban area and lack the facility or inclination to control their numbers during the 5 months they are fully legal and can escape slaughter by flight, like all fowl they habituate to human presence very quickly meaning they are very easy targets for those unwilling or unable to except them on sporting terms.

You make some incredible assumptions, just shows how easy it is to lead the blind and blinkered.

Ha Ha, you haven't seen me blasting any geese from my boat period, let alone in their flightless stage, and frankly in the real world you will have a MUCH harder case suggesting it is fine to shoot them in the name of Sport compared to Pest Control!

Edited February 23, 2014 by Dekers

stubby · February 23, 2014

I too have noticed the word sport being used, as well as a few lines from the GL, its a shame these people dont include the rest of the GL, that states there is no closed season for canadians, I mean that would blow their argument truly out of the water

as a full time pestie it makes me chuckle, that when people find out Im shooting ferals nearly every night, they say "how do I get a job like yours" yet they too then cant see the difference between whats classed as sporting, or pest control when I get called to the fisheries to pop off the canadians

and as for blasting them left right and center because there is no closed season, or that we dont need to prove other deterents have failed, its work, not sport

now moving onto deer, did you know that as a woodland owner (that's me) there is no closed season on deer either, and they can be shot with a 12 gauge shotgun, as a way of protecting young native/broadleaf saplings, our woodland has quite a few deer running through it, and the total amount shot since march 06 is 0%, see we dont shoot just for the sake of it, Id rather pay for a pig to cook than shoot a deer,

horses for courses

Big Mat · February 23, 2014

They are Canadas not Canadians!

kent · February 23, 2014

They are Canadas not Canadians!

Shows a level of competence don't it just, like I have posted shooting Canadians is murder :rolleyes:

kent · February 23, 2014

I too have noticed the word sport being used, as well as a few lines from the GL, its a shame these people dont include the rest of the GL, that states there is no closed season for canadians, I mean that would blow their argument truly out of the water

as a full time pestie it makes me chuckle, that when people find out Im shooting ferals nearly every night, they say "how do I get a job like yours" yet they too then cant see the difference between whats classed as sporting, or pest control when I get called to the fisheries to pop off the canadians

and as for blasting them left right and center because there is no closed season, or that we dont need to prove other deterents have failed, its work, not sport

now moving onto deer, did you know that as a woodland owner (that's me) there is no closed season on deer either, and they can be shot with a 12 gauge shotgun, as a way of protecting young native/broadleaf saplings, our woodland has quite a few deer running through it, and the total amount shot since march 06 is 0%, see we dont shoot just for the sake of it, Id rather pay for a pig to cook than shoot a deer,

horses for courses

You are wrong under the terms of when you can shoot deer out of season, its not simply a free for all woodland owners there was a prominent case of a well known RFD being prosecuted for this (he owned the woodland and had an out of season buck in his car)

And all geese have a season other than those that are no longer permitted to be shot (brent etc), the wording is "geese" . Under terms and only under the terms of the general licence which is renewed annually might they be shot at other times. "All birds are protected in law other than those that may be shot within an allocated season on or under terms of a general or special licence"

Personally I have no issue with genuine pest control out of season but look at the OP

Yes pest control and sport are very different- but to shoot Canadians has been illegal from when we chased the French out of America LOL and the general licence is issued in an addition act each year not instead of a season but in addition. In season shooting needs no general licence terms complied with and a change in primary legislation is required to remove Canada Geese from having a season or allowing them a full year of a season. I need not consider anything but the shooting rights to kill a Canada in season. Out of season I need comply with the issued annual terms of general licence, that's quite a big difference