Ollie-m Posted January 16 Report Share Posted January 16 (edited) Very simple question really, are foxes classed as vermin?/would they come under the clause on my fac ‘shall be used for vermin control’ Thanks ollie Edited January 16 by Ollie-m Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enfieldspares Posted January 16 Report Share Posted January 16 Yes. Foxes are classed as vermin. However it may be fairly easy just to send an email your firearms licensing department asking for confirmation of that. Usually vermin includes foxes. Whereas an old school FAC that said the rifle were possessed for "deer stalking" would not have allowed the use of the rifle for shooting foxes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShootingEgg Posted January 16 Report Share Posted January 16 If you have any legal quarry stated on you cert you're good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ollie-m Posted January 16 Author Report Share Posted January 16 4 minutes ago, ShootingEgg said: If you have any legal quarry stated on you cert you're good. ‘Shall be used for vermin control and for zeroing on land deemed suitable by chief officer (rest of the closed ticket statement..)’ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShootingEgg Posted January 16 Report Share Posted January 16 15 minutes ago, Ollie-m said: ‘Shall be used for vermin control and for zeroing on land deemed suitable by chief officer (rest of the closed ticket statement..)’ Hope this helps .... Foxes have never been classified as vermin by DEFRA Foxes are not protected for conservation purposes in England. The owner or occupier of the property where a problem with foxes occurs can decide when to control them. You or anyone you employ to control the foxes must protect their welfare. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Windswept Posted January 16 Report Share Posted January 16 (edited) If in any doubt it's always worth reading the firearms guidance. Look at 12.18 https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/firearms-law-guidance-to-the-police-2012/guide-on-firearms-licensing-law-accessible-version#chapter-12-good-reason-to-possess-a-firearm Quote The term “vermin” is not defined in law, but it may include species that cause damage to crops, game, livestock or property such as fox, rabbit, mink, stoat, weasel, brown rat, and grey squirrel; as well as some birds, such as wood pigeon or carrion crow. Edit to add, I would expect the phrase on you cert to say "vermin including fox" (see appendix 3), so you may wish to confirm with your licensing dept as suggested. Edited January 16 by Windswept Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
London Best Posted January 16 Report Share Posted January 16 I have my rimfire .22 granted for “vermin and fox” and my Centrefire .22 granted for “Fox and vermin”, both now read “and AOLQ”. This wording shows the main quarry first. The stalking rifle is granted for “deer and fox and AOLQ” Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShootingEgg Posted January 16 Report Share Posted January 16 13 minutes ago, London Best said: I have my rimfire .22 granted for “vermin and fox” and my Centrefire .22 granted for “Fox and vermin”, both now read “and AOLQ”. This wording shows the main quarry first. The stalking rifle is granted for “deer and fox and AOLQ” Yes this is how I asked for mine to be worded to state the rifle is for X but also ALQ so that it is covered for what I shoot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oowee Posted January 16 Report Share Posted January 16 Vermin is good enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zoli 12 guage Posted January 28 Report Share Posted January 28 On 16/01/2024 at 21:34, oowee said: Vermin is good enough. so what you're saying is,if your .22 FAC Rapid says "vermin" as a condition, it's ok for "Fox" then? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oowee Posted January 28 Report Share Posted January 28 That's a decision for you. Whatever your shooting must be likely to produce a humane kill. Personally I would say a .22fac air gun is unlikely to be sufficient. If its 75 ftlb then maybe a different matter. I have seen a blue wildebeast dropped cleanly by a hmr but I would not say its a humane firearm for plains game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ollie-m Posted January 28 Author Report Share Posted January 28 The only time I would ever consider an fac air rifle would be at practically point blank headshot if there was no other option Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lloyd90 Posted January 28 Report Share Posted January 28 This is another one of those questions that’s better asked of your Licencing department than asking a bunch of strangers on the internet. If you have any issues (however very unlikely), it’s your Licencing department that will be asked, not an internet forum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oowee Posted January 30 Report Share Posted January 30 On 28/01/2024 at 20:47, Lloyd90 said: This is another one of those questions that’s better asked of your Licencing department than asking a bunch of strangers on the internet. If you have any issues (however very unlikely), it’s your Licencing department that will be asked, not an internet forum. You should certainly ask them. I suspect the answers from your average licencing department will vary by region. its the shooter that must strive for a humane kill and ultimately justify the shot taken. A shotgun is another area for debate with some forces. We all know basically why it's provided but what about despatch, or farmers use for deer defence. None are specific in the grant of a licence but both may fall within legitimate areas of use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zoli 12 guage Posted January 30 Report Share Posted January 30 On 28/01/2024 at 13:45, oowee said: That's a decision for you. Whatever your shooting must be likely to produce a humane kill. Personally I would say a .22fac air gun is unlikely to be sufficient. If its 75 ftlb then maybe a different matter. I have seen a blue wildebeast dropped cleanly by a hmr but I would not say its a humane firearm for plains game. On 28/01/2024 at 13:47, Ollie-m said: The only time I would ever consider an fac air rifle would be at practically point blank headshot if there was no other option this is how my FAC conditions read. it covers mid 30 ish ft/lbs to more than 3000 ft/lbs in rifles and a 12 guage,10 shot auto loading shotgun. funnily,the quarry conditions for all the rifles specifically states "vermin and Fox" but the shotgun just states "vermin" just to be clear i wouldn't and never have set out to shoot foxes with anything other than one of my (deer legal) CF's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rim Fire Posted January 30 Report Share Posted January 30 If AOLQ is on your licence then any animal that is classed as vermin is legal BUT as been said it's up to you to decide that at the time of shooting i shot a fox the other sunday with my .22LR it dropped like a stone but was only around 60 mtrs away headshot When i applied for a 308 i was asked why i needed it i said it was for shooting Boar he turned and said you already have a 243 and i said i wanted a legal caliber for shooting the Boar he said there is no such thing as a legal caliber for Boar there is a recommendation of a 270 and above he then turned and said if i wanted to i could shoot it with my 22Lr and i wouldn't be breaking the law he said it wouldn't be ethical to do so as i have AOLQ on my license and they are classed as vermin he said they have been trying to get Defra to classify them but they wont Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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