Guardian and RSPB pro gameshooting???

[Blunderbuss]

Am I dreaming? Here is that rarest of beasts, an article in the Guardian that is possibly sympathetic to pheasant shoots, or at least not openly hostile. Furthermore, it is reporting support for them from the RSPB!!

 

"RSPB backs pheasant shoots and says they’re good for the countryside"

 

I'm sure normal service will be resumed soon enough - we are all psychotic raptor killers and would be mass murderers, but credit to them for at least showing a tiny piece of balance.

Edited March 29, 2015 by Blunderbuss

[al4x]

Shame about the pheasant picture used though

[Blunderbuss]

Shame about the pheasant picture used though

 

As you know, Guardianistas rarely set foot out of London or more than 50 paces from a cappuccino bar, so they are somewhat limited in their choice of wildlife photos.

Edited March 29, 2015 by Blunderbuss

[robbiep]

Anyone else think that Martin Harper (Conservation Director, RSPB) might soon find himself looking for a new job, once his ... less-than-rational ... members get to read that one ?

 

Fair play on him though. I agree with him. Clobber the people that break the law, but support the biodiversity that most shoots provide, accepting that the world is an imperfect place.

[David BASC]

Its no secret that its typical that land managed for game shooting is more biologically diverse than land which is not. This is a key point that BASC have been making and its fantastic that this is being recognized and the bigger picture is beings seen by the senior management in the RSPB

 

David

[jimmydean]

Anyone else think that Martin Harper (Conservation Director, RSPB) might soon find himself looking for a new job, once his ... less-than-rational ... members get to read that one ?

 

Fair play on him though. I agree with him. Clobber the people that break the law, but support the biodiversity that most shoots provide, accepting that the world is an imperfect place.

This may be the first sign of a change of direction for the better. If the RSPB could get shooters on side then a lot more is possible in terms of wild bird conservation. This seems to recognise that focusing on the gamekeeping community negatively, as does the RSPB normally and the RSPCA, might not actually be the right strategy if they can leave us to control the worst excesses and illegal behaviour of some in our midst.

Worth welcoming the approach but keeping our powder dry, based on past experiences.

[panoma1]

Its no secret that its typical that land managed for game shooting is more biologically diverse than land which is not. This is a key point that BASC have been making and its fantastic that this is being recognized and the bigger picture is beings seen by the senior management in the RSPB

 

David

Absolutely David! I admit I have despaired of the tide turning, but this appears a positive chink of light!

Hopefully Avery's attack on Grouse shooting will now be seen for what it is.......an anti shooting/class war..........at the expense of wildlife!

[scotslad]

Sorry folks but there needs to be a lot more stories like this for thr RSPB ever to get any respect from me.

Needs more about the ammount of damage cats do as well as the ammount of predator control they carry out on their own reserves before they have turned any corner and begin to convince me.

 

Usually something like this comes right before they kick u in the balls!! I doubt there is a massive BUT coming (and unfortuneately i doubt u won't have to wait till August time)

 

Now is the time BASC, CA, NGO should really be pushing the positive benefits of shooting far more to the genral public, schools and colleges

 

I honestly think the tide has been turning for a while as wildlife populations are in such a mess and people are slowly realising u cannot just leave them to get on with it and the massive rise and spread in predator number must have some effect on other species

[jimmydean]

Sorry folks but there needs to be a lot more stories like this for thr RSPB ever to get any respect from me.

Needs more about the ammount of damage cats do as well as the ammount of predator control they carry out on their own reserves before they have turned any corner and begin to convince me.

 

Usually something like this comes right before they kick u in the balls!! I doubt there is a massive BUT coming (and unfortuneately i doubt u won't have to wait till August time)

 

Now is the time BASC, CA, NGO should really be pushing the positive benefits of shooting far more to the genral public, schools and colleges

 

I honestly think the tide has been turning for a while as wildlife populations are in such a mess and people are slowly realising u cannot just leave them to get on with it and the massive rise and spread in predator number must have some effect on other species

All very fair points

[robbiep]

I see the usual rabid lot have come out in force today, spouting their usual lines : http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/earth/countryside/11502903/Row-erupts-as-RSPB-claims-pheasant-shooting-is-actually-good-for-some-wildlife.html

Animal aid, PETA, LACS all coming out condemning RSPB on this one, whereas another RSPB board member has publicly supported the new stance.

 

THIS may be a major opportunity for all of us involved in shooting and conservation : do what we can to show that the RSPB's stance is sensible, and support it wholeheartedly, while letting the lunatic fringe of antis show themselves to be as utterly intolerant as we already know they are.

[David BASC]

Absolutely spot on

David

[jimmydean]

I see the usual rabid lot have come out in force today, spouting their usual lines : http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/earth/countryside/11502903/Row-erupts-as-RSPB-claims-pheasant-shooting-is-actually-good-for-some-wildlife.html

Animal aid, PETA, LACS all coming out condemning RSPB on this one, whereas another RSPB board member has publicly supported the new stance.

 

THIS may be a major opportunity for all of us involved in shooting and conservation : do what we can to show that the RSPB's stance is sensible, and support it wholeheartedly, while letting the lunatic fringe of antis show themselves to be as utterly intolerant as we already know they are.

 

Ok, what joint initiatives can we start with ? Seriously - if its an olive branch then lets test it and marginalise still further the rest of the 'wild fringes'.

How about their views now on the Hen Harrier issue?

[robbiep]

Their views on Hen Harriers and other protected species are NOT going to change, no matter what you or anyone else might like to think. They say as much in the article, in that they will continue to vigorously go after raptor persecution cases.

 

Where you are going to see movement is on the less contentious issues : corvids, for example. Basically, they've finally come to see that all this conservation work (woodland regeneration, cover crops, etc.) costs money - and that they can learn a lot from the way game shoots go about things.

 

What can we do at present ? Not a lot. Stay legal, ensuring that we follow best practice at all times. The process will initially happen at a higher level in RSPB / BASC / CA, etc, and only when some trust has started to develop will things start to filter down to people 'on the ground'.

[scotslad]

Ur quite right robbie in wot r saying, but they need to do an awfull lot more or atleast keep this up long term for trust to even begin to start to grow.

 

The RSPB have done so much damage over the years will take years/generations to get back to the way things should be, both working hand in hand and BOTH making comprimises if needed on some things

 

I had my annual blowout at the wildlife trust committee meeting, always lose my head this time of year when rest of committee point blank refuse to do any predator control on the reserve. I used to be fairly subtle but no longer. Not unusual to pick 50 odd mallard eggs all ate by crows, they just can't seem to grasp that we are doing more harm than good by attracting wildlife in and not protecting it, just making it easy for vermin.

 

They truely believe that a nature reserve that fledges NO broods year on year is sustainable , but u can take some fantastic stoat photo's .

That belief has been strongly re enforced by the RSPB et al over the past 30yrs.

 

 

Ps I wonder of there views and actions towards nesting Eagle Owl's will change??

[norfolk dumpling]

The Times carried the same article yesterday and afew weeks ago carried a similar one supporting the conservation work shoots and gamekeepers conduct so we all need to keep the message circulating. I've shown Times article to my workmates as I often use this argument and sometimes I think they think I'm talking out of the wrong orifice!!

 

We spent a long day foxing on Saturday - the usual format ie 6-8 guns standing quiet and the rest pushing through woods and reed beds making as much noise as possible and standing for three such manoeuvres it never ceases to amaze me the huge number and variety of wildlife which came past me. I could have filled a small lorry with venison, a couple of huge freezers with duck/hare and the birdie boys would have been delighted by the number of buzzards and marsh harriers on the marshes.