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Is it OK to shoot Jays?


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I was picking up today on a driven day and one of the guns shot a jay.

Wheni picked it, it wasn't deat dead so I despatched it with my priest.

The guy who shot it came up to me and said "its actually illeagal to kill a jay" so I said "if thats true why did you shoot it?"

He looked at me as if I was something on the bottom of his shoe and walked off.

 

I know you can shoot them under the general licenses for pest control if they are eating/damaging crops etc but can you shoot them on a driven pheasant day?

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9 minutes ago, ilovemyheckler said:

I was picking up today on a driven day and one of the guns shot a jay.

Wheni picked it, it wasn't deat dead so I despatched it with my priest.

The guy who shot it came up to me and said "its actually illeagal to kill a jay" so I said "if thats true why did you shoot it?"

He looked at me as if I was something on the bottom of his shoe and walked off.

 

I know you can shoot them under the general licenses for pest control if they are eating/damaging crops etc but can you shoot them on a driven pheasant day?

What crops would you expect a Jay to eat?

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4 minutes ago, Fellside said:

Short answer is yes. I very much doubt the gun you’re referring to has read the GLs or even heard of them. 

This. In the nesting season if you've "Red List" nesting birds being predated upon. If not no matter how nice is Colonel Downham's Fancy then no. And other possibly than woodpigeon (which in any case aren't "Red List") I know of no birds the nest and rear young in January!

 

Edited by enfieldspares
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https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/wild-birds-licence-to-kill-or-take-for-conservation-purposes-gl40/gl40-general-licence-to-kill-or-take-certain-species-of-wild-birds-to-conserve-endangered-wild-birds-or-flora-and-fauna

6 minutes ago, enfieldspares said:

This. In the nesting season if you've "Red List" nesting birds being predated upon. If not no matter how nice is Colonel Downham's Fancy then no. And other possibly than woodpigeon (which in any case aren't "Red List") I know of no birds the nest and rear young in January!

 

Where does is say that in the GL?

Edited by WalkedUp
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I shoot every one I see in my wood as I have a number of red listed birds resident and Jays will do a lot of damage to their breeding success. I have this year seen bull finches back for the first time that I can remember, so rare around here a neighbour thought they where escapees from a tropical bird reserve. I feed year round and it costs me a fortune but well worth it.  Shot over 25 in 10 acres this winter. Just think what they would do to nests this spring/summer.  

The answer is yes if the above situation exists.

 

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I watched a pair of Jays earlier this year working together flushing newly fledged birds including Dartford warblers and Yellow hammer from gorse bushes, they took turns siting on the top of the bush whilst the other did the flushing. In the past I wouldn't shoot them but I would now.

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The GLs are very open to interpretation and full of confusing contradictions. They are written that way to avoid legal challenge. There is no reference as to when the red listed species can be protected. I personally have no hesitation in shooting jays. It is up to each individual as to whether they wish to control them or not. ‘Illegal’ though…… doesn’t have any relevance in this context. 

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I wander how many have read the G L from start to finish ? , I didn't know you couldn't shoot Hooded Crows in England and the Collard Dove is now fully protected , we had the exactly same question on a shoot the other week when a Jay flew over and no one took a shot , when questioned the gun said he thought they were now protected so better to be safe than sorry by leaving it .

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39 minutes ago, Rim Fire said:

Cant shoot them in Wales and i see loads of them i beat on one shoot in England and the landowner wont have them shot or Pigeons 

Some English landowners aren’t very well informed unfortunately. One landowner recently told me that an individual licence is needed to shoot pigeons….?!

There is still a lot of confusion and uncertainty swirling around re GLs after the last debacle. As already mentioned a lot of people don’t read them. 

1 hour ago, TIGHTCHOKE said:

A left and right would be good!  :good:

👍

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The question asked was “ is it ok to shoot jays on a driven pheasant day “ . I would say that depends on what he is paying to shoot. Would killing a jay cost more or less than a game bird. The shooters and the owner don’t  need a licence to kill game, it was called a kill game license, but they need a license to kill a jay. The person who shot the jay should know what he is allowed to shoot, the cost to shoot it, has he and the person he is paying got a license to kill the jay. 

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4 minutes ago, Gas seal said:

The question asked was “ is it ok to shoot jays on a driven pheasant day “ . I would say that depends on what he is paying to shoot. Would killing a jay cost more or less than a game bird. The shooters and the owner don’t  need a licence to kill game, it was called a kill game license, but they need a license to kill a jay. The person who shot the jay should know what he is allowed to shoot, the cost to shoot it, has he and the person he is paying got a license to kill the jay. 

As I said earlier "Not until the pheasants are flying"  

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36 minutes ago, Gas seal said:

The question asked was “ is it ok to shoot jays on a driven pheasant day “ . I would say that depends on what he is paying to shoot. Would killing a jay cost more or less than a game bird. The shooters and the owner don’t  need a licence to kill game, it was called a kill game license, but they need a license to kill a jay. The person who shot the jay should know what he is allowed to shoot, the cost to shoot it, has he and the person he is paying got a license to kill the jay. 

Shot a jay and a magpie on a pheasant day

was billed £37 each at the end of the day 

 

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i am not an active jay hunter.......but if one presents itself it will be toast....i like to see the odd jay in the countryside..but in some areas they can be over run with them....and therefore the balance is wrong........

i view foxes in the same way

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