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Do I walk away from a permission


Strongman
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I have carried out the vermin, fox control & many game keeping duties on a 500 acre permission I have shot for the last few years. I regularly help out the farmer and had, I thought, a good relationship with said farmer. 

I recently went on the small rough shoot I help to run on this permission, and was informed the neighbouring farmer had asked if some lads who lamp their farm could go across his land, which he said he had no problem with. This is not the first time this has happened and there are now groups of lads roaming round at will, making me uncomfortable to carry on as I do not know who is shooting when or how safe they are. 

I intend to let the farmer know I am uncomfortable with the situation and will be stepping back, ultimately giving up the permission. 

I know the farmer just wants his vermin controlled, which I considered I was doing and never had any complaints, and seems to use the shooting to curry favour.

The questions I am mulling over are-

a. Am I doing the right thing in walking away or should I broach my concerns?

b. If I broach my concerns how should I do this and what should I say?

c. Should I be asking for sole permission on the land or is this being overly forward & out of order?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.  

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4 minutes ago, TIGHTCHOKE said:

A. Yes, you should be considering walking away.

B. Ask to see the farmer face to face and politely tell him you are unhappy with the safety aspect, it is after all his land.

C. Do not push your luck for sole permission, it is after all his land.

Thanks for that, that’s reassuring. I was worried I would be seen as overreacting but safety is paramount at the end of the day. 

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consider walking away mate. if they do not appreciate the work you put in and you have other ground where it would be more appreciated then concerntrate on that . may be worth having a chat and  explain how you go about your work in a professional manner. but most important explain to the farmer the safety issues there will be with all these so called lampers. 

there are a large numbers of people that go a round flashing a light around and consider themselves very good they are normally doing more harm than good. hence why they are always looking for land and dont care whos toes they stand on:mad:

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Cheers mate. That certainly sounds like the way to go. I think there is no inclination into the work I put in so walking away would free a lot of time up for me. I suspect that this has been happening for a while as the foxes are getting quite lamp shy.

I have spent days walking the land in the light ensuring I know all the backstops and potential danger areas. As far as I am aware the last lot weren’t local & arrived in the dark not having a clue of the lay if the land. Cowboys :no:

 

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I agree with Ed. I put a lot of hard work into the ground that I look after and am the first one out if there is an issue with losses due to foxes. Whilst the farmer owns the ground and can do what he likes it shows a lack of respect on their part . Far to many people think it is the farmer doing you a favor by letting you shoot on their ground..it is a two way thing. 

I gave up a piece of land a couple of years ago that I had looked after for 9 years as the farmer came to a "gentlemans agreement" with some guys running an informal pheasant shoot. The only thing missing was the gentleman so I walked away. 

Have a chat with the guy first and see what he says as he may not be aware how precious and territorial we fox shooters are :lol:

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I would if in your position approach the Farmer and inform him that i was giving up the permission as i considered it unsafe to shoot now due to the amount of other people roaming his land and can't guarantee their safety, Shake his hand thanking him for allowing you to shoot his land and if in the future he needed my services as the shoot had become safe ( roamers gone) again then please give me a call.. 

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I was faced with a similar thing a while back. I decided to approach the shooters themselves, and get the measure of them. They seemed safe enough from what i could tell, although it was only asking mixed agenda questions. I've since found the farm owners also let a 3rd shooter on the land. I mad e more of an effort to build relations with the other shooters themselves. Since then, it seems to be working well. The one who only uses a .22lr for pigeons in the woods sends txts when he's going in advance, the fail safe being if i see his Freelander in the parking area.... And the arrogant one. As in all the gear, but no idea... He just told me what motor he has. So i can work out if it's safe to shoot, by seeing toffee nose's black L200, or when i get a txt from the .22lr man, or see his motor. I work around that. Granted it's easy to say when you have others shoots not far away....  Telling the farmer you've had enough and are ditching him, may bite you in butt, if in time you come to need him...  It's worked out ok for me so far. I clearly tell them, there's a chance you could shoot me by mistake, or i could do the same to you, hence 'lets all play it safe' by working together..... 

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Been there and got a number of tee shirts. Walked out of a 2000 acre block next door, where I had done an exceptional job of controlling foxes(329 first year) and also unpaid beating/picking up on their shoot days, even let them knock out my small ten acres patch. I was out one night and saw a lamp beam approaching covering the fields. I sat tight behind a large tree and eventually one of the shoot members came driving along, rifle and lamp out of the window. and made it clear enough he was doing the fox control from now on. The fact I had kicked is backside off of my shoot for cruelty to his dogs obviously did not help.   That area is now wall to wall foxes again because they have all had a go and not willing to put the time in. 

As above, explain to the farmer the situation and it is purely on a safety basis. Explain that should the incomers prove not to be keeping the vermin down then your always willing to come back.   I have found where one door closes very often another will open.

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Thanks for that, all good advice and along the lines of what I was thinking.

I am going to call in on my way home and have a chat, explain my safety concerns and that I will be walking away. It is a good idea to keep the 'door ajar' by offering my services in the future should, and when, the need arises!

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Iam a farmer and I have three lads shoot the land for pest control. 

They just text me when they are on the land that’s the agreement.

If they did not let me know then that would be there last time on the land. 

All three have come good friends through it and decoy pigeons together and now lamp together.

ps not that good at there job a the min as they have not bin since they last shot pigeons in October 

kind regards  

 

 

 

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3 minutes ago, The gouse said:

Iam a farmer and I have three lads shoot the land for pest control. 

They just text me when they are on the land that’s the agreement.

If they did not let me know then that would be there last time on the land. 

All three have come good friends through it and decoy pigeons together and now lamp together.

ps not that good at there job a the min as they have not bin since they last shot pigeons in October 

kind regards  

 

 

 

So there be an opening for reliable shooters then :whistling:

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28 minutes ago, The gouse said:

Iam a farmer and I have three lads shoot the land for pest control. 

They just text me when they are on the land that’s the agreement.

If they did not let me know then that would be there last time on the land. 

All three have come good friends through it and decoy pigeons together and now lamp together.

ps not that good at there job a the min as they have not bin since they last shot pigeons in October 

kind regards  

 

 

 

Is your rape getting hammered by pigeons?

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good man the gouse.

18 minutes ago, The gouse said:

Yes if you are willing to travel pm me

regards

cannot fault what folk have said, there have been a few threads on similar lines, always going to be hard giving up the shooting when you've put in the work, but if you don't know who's going to be about shooting foxes time to move on, what's the bet in 6 months time the farmers on the phone asking you to help out.

stay safe.

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1 hour ago, jam1e said:

I was faced with a similar thing a while back. I decided to approach the shooters themselves, and get the measure of them. They seemed safe enough from what i could tell, although it was only asking mixed agenda questions. I've since found the farm owners also let a 3rd shooter on the land. I mad e more of an effort to build relations with the other shooters themselves. Since then, it seems to be working well. The one who only uses a .22lr for pigeons in the woods sends txts when he's going in advance, the fail safe being if i see his Freelander in the parking area.... And the arrogant one. As in all the gear, but no idea... He just told me what motor he has. So i can work out if it's safe to shoot, by seeing toffee nose's black L200, or when i get a txt from the .22lr man, or see his motor. I work around that. Granted it's easy to say when you have others shoots not far away....  Telling the farmer you've had enough and are ditching him, may bite you in butt, if in time you come to need him...  It's worked out ok for me so far. I clearly tell them, there's a chance you could shoot me by mistake, or i could do the same to you, hence 'lets all play it safe' by working together..... 

hello, a 22 LR in a wood ???

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All done. Said I would not be round now as I wasn’t comfortable with all the people now shooting the land. Farmer said he understood and it was left with my services being offered for the future but with my concerns being voiced. 

Thanks for all your input and advice, it was really helpful to have the support, helping me to have the courage in my convictions. 

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4 minutes ago, Strongman said:

All done. Said I would not be round now as I wasn’t comfortable with all the people now shooting the land. Farmer said he understood and it was left with my services being offered for the future but with my concerns being voiced. 

Thanks for all your input and advice, it was really helpful to have the support, helping me to have the courage in my convictions. 

Nice one, Hope you feel better now that's outa the way :good:

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