Interpretation of Shooting under the general licence

[pavman]

Right then what has our experts views on this;

 

I occasionally get asked to shoot woodies on a large Estate with another PW member (not my ole chum Highlander)

 

Things have started to change since the Estate got a management company in to run things.

 

There is a full time gamekeeper same man for years and a gen nice guy, and when the birds hit he calls round a few local guns for assistance, myself and bud being part of the team.

 

Now the management company are taking political correctness to new highs, the Estate gets payments for headlands and set aside and to date no two farms or mash I know of have been treated in the same way with regards to what constitutes disturbance etc. and as if that was not enough grief, the Gamekeeper has now been told he has to check each and every time he wants to shoot vermin to ensure the management company feel its justified under the terms of the general licence.

 

Recently even shooting over stubble has been stopped as they felt there was no crop to protect, the game keeper has to apply for a day permit for each of us every time. Poor old keeper is pulling his hair out watching woodie giving him the finger day after day.

 

Under the guise of HSE he also can no longer shoot rabbits from the truck and no shooting can take place if a farm worker is on the same field even if its over 100 Acres

 

Is this a sign of things to come, or perhaps we have an anti in our midst

[roadkill]

Right then what has our experts views on this;

 

 

 

Is this a sign of things to come, or perhaps we have an anti in our midst

 

i would say this is a sign of things to come , it wont be long till we wont be aloud to walk on paths because we could get hurt

[henry d]

Is this a sign of things to come, or perhaps we have an anti in our midst

 

 

I think it is just management policy across many aspects of life, indeed the the world over. At the moment in time I am required to attach myself to a line to walk on a roofladder on a roof !!!! so it is easier for us to use an aerial ladder platform to access any roofs

 

The way I see it is the managers are there to justify there position and not just to make the estate run smoothly.

[Cranfield]

I am no "expert", but I think there is also the fear of the "claim culture", with companies covering themselves against potential insurance claims.

The "no shooting from trucks" and "no shooting when an employee is working in the vicinity", certainly sound like that.

 

I know of a company that owns a thin strip of land that separates the salt marsh from a road and has now posted notices warning people not to cross the private land.

They use to turn a blind eye to wildfowlers, bird watchers etc., but 3 months ago a woman walking her dog stumbled down a steep part of the bank, broke her ankle and is suing the company.

Up go the signs and its all going to be fenced off.

 

With regard to shooting under the General Licence, this will always be a matter of interpretation, where harvested fields are concerned.

Shooting over setaside is another grey area.

If you take a particular view over the wording, you should not shoot either...................and you shouldn't roost shoot, or shoot at birds flying from one place to another, in your garden, etc etc.

 

I have heard from a Farmer friend who has turned some of his fields over to organic crops, that his "Agent" has discussed whether the fields should be shot over, obviously referring to lead deposits and wads.

 

Hopefully, these incidents will always be isolated and the country will continue to be populated by common sense Farmers and Landowners.