Scully Posted February 7 Report Share Posted February 7 Put this in general shooting so it gets seen by everyone as it has just popped up in my feed. This may be common knowledge to many, but not to others, so here goes. Apparently, if you pay someone to shoot ‘pests’, be they crows, pigeons or geese, or any other flying vermin within the terms of the GL, be that a guide or a landowner to shoot pests on their land, then you could fall foul of the GL, as it is then deemed to be ‘sport’ and NOT essential pest control. As we all know we are not allowed to shoot pigeon or corvids for sport. Bit of a grey area? Not so sure, but anyhow, be aware. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mpmilo Posted February 7 Report Share Posted February 7 I dont get paid, but all my cartridges are supplied by landowners and to be fair always have been. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old farrier Posted February 7 Report Share Posted February 7 Just a thought arnt gamekeepers paid to control pests and vermin as part of their job then if they invite a group of beaters roost shooting or vermin 🤔 appreciate the main point is paying a guide or paying a farmer 😊 so are you paying for the shooting or being paid to do the shooting which one is the grey area 🤔 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scully Posted February 7 Author Report Share Posted February 7 30 minutes ago, Old farrier said: appreciate the main point is paying a guide or paying a farmer 😊 so are you paying for the shooting or being paid to do the shooting which one is the grey area 🤔 Good question. Who knows? If you rent land to shoot over such as a small syndicate, which is sport, and then shoot pigeons on it from a hide, is that pest control or sport? We don’t pay for our shooting except for one farm, which we have shot on for many years just to ensure it is exclusively ours; an absolutely paltry sum he gave to his daughter as pocket money ( she’s left school now but the sum remains the same ) just because he used to have so many rabbits, which we enjoy bolting, but he also asks us to shoot pigeon when it’s needed. Does that put us in breach of the GL? 🤷♂️ It’s all cash so who’s to know? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lloyd90 Posted February 7 Report Share Posted February 7 1 hour ago, Scully said: Put this in general shooting so it gets seen by everyone as it has just popped up in my feed. This may be common knowledge to many, but not to others, so here goes. Apparently, if you pay someone to shoot ‘pests’, be they crows, pigeons or geese, or any other flying vermin within the terms of the GL, be that a guide or a landowner to shoot pests on their land, then you could fall foul of the GL, as it is then deemed to be ‘sport’ and NOT essential pest control. As we all know we are not allowed to shoot pigeon or corvids for sport. Bit of a grey area? Not so sure, but anyhow, be aware. I think this has been questioned lately on the basis of people charging as guides for days out: EG pigeon guides, goose guides, crow shooting experiences etc. Blokes charging lads with no land several hundred ££ for a “days sport” as you would with driven shooting. People complaining are the same people who go mental and jump up and down with steam coming out of their ears when they see someone post a bag of wood pigeons saying they’re for eating / for the pot. “You’re not allowed to shoot them for the pot!!!” Without taking account of the fact you can do essential pest control and still eat the birds. Until someone challenges it in court and wins keep on carrying on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newbie to this Posted February 7 Report Share Posted February 7 Shooting for the pot, should be a fundamental right Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scully Posted February 7 Author Report Share Posted February 7 1 hour ago, Lloyd90 said: “You’re not allowed to shoot them for the pot!!!” Without taking account of the fact you can do essential pest control and still eat the birds. Until someone challenges it in court and wins keep on carrying on. I can’t recall now whether the question arose from an NGO or Scribehound online feed. Personally I think people should be allowed to shoot pigeon whenever and wherever ( if they come over during a days driven they’re shot at 🤷♂️) but according to the GL we aren’t allowed to shoot pigeon for sport. 1 hour ago, Newbie to this said: Shooting for the pot, should be a fundamental right Totally agree. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conor O'Gorman Posted February 7 Report Share Posted February 7 Just an observation on references to a 'GL'. There are many different general licences for different purposes and different terms and conditions for woodpigeon and other various bird species in each of England, Wales, NI and Scotland. BASC advice is here: https://basc.org.uk/gl In the context of the thread what they all have in common is that they are valid for 'authorised persons'. Maybe consider this laterally - how you got that authorisation is not defined as far as I understand it - so if you were not paid, paid, or you paid for that so be it. There are lots of ifs and buts and grey areas as regards general licences and that has steadily got worse over the years - perhaps as a result of all these queries (!) and the terms and conditions grow longer and longer as the lawyers tinker with them, so it is natural to 'overthink it'. However, it is what it is if we want all year round ability to control certain bird species that is the situation. That said, if there was an opportunity to get wood pigeon onto the quarry list (in addition to remaining on general licences, as per Canada goose in England, Wales and Scotland) with let's say an open season from from October to April there would at least be total clarity during the open season and indeed taking a few for the pot in your own garden etc? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Mighty Prawn Posted February 8 Report Share Posted February 8 16 hours ago, Conor O'Gorman said: Just an observation on references to a 'GL'. There are many different general licences for different purposes and different terms and conditions for woodpigeon and other various bird species in each of England, Wales, NI and Scotland. BASC advice is here: https://basc.org.uk/gl In the context of the thread what they all have in common is that they are valid for 'authorised persons'. Maybe consider this laterally - how you got that authorisation is not defined as far as I understand it - so if you were not paid, paid, or you paid for that so be it. There are lots of ifs and buts and grey areas as regards general licences and that has steadily got worse over the years - perhaps as a result of all these queries (!) and the terms and conditions grow longer and longer as the lawyers tinker with them, so it is natural to 'overthink it'. However, it is what it is if we want all year round ability to control certain bird species that is the situation. That said, if there was an opportunity to get wood pigeon onto the quarry list (in addition to remaining on general licences, as per Canada goose in England, Wales and Scotland) with let's say an open season from from October to April there would at least be total clarity during the open season and indeed taking a few for the pot in your own garden etc? That’s certainly how I have chosen to interpret the wording, regardless of how you got authorisation whether paid or not, so long as you are authorised you can shoot under the terms of the GL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penelope Posted February 8 Report Share Posted February 8 22 hours ago, Scully said: Good question. Who knows? If you rent land to shoot over such as a small syndicate, which is sport, and then shoot pigeons on it from a hide, is that pest control or sport? We don’t pay for our shooting except for one farm, which we have shot on for many years just to ensure it is exclusively ours; an absolutely paltry sum he gave to his daughter as pocket money ( she’s left school now but the sum remains the same ) just because he used to have so many rabbits, which we enjoy bolting, but he also asks us to shoot pigeon when it’s needed. Does that put us in breach of the GL? 🤷♂️ It’s all cash so who’s to know? Our lease covers us for game and wildfowl shooting for sporting purposes, but a condition of that lease is to provide pest control on pigeons and rabbits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scully Posted February 8 Author Report Share Posted February 8 17 minutes ago, Penelope said: Our lease covers us for game and wildfowl shooting for sporting purposes, but a condition of that lease is to provide pest control on pigeons and rabbits. Yeah, I don’t think I’ll be losing any sleep over it either. I just wanted to put it out there after it popped up in my feed. 👍 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vince Green Posted February 12 Report Share Posted February 12 It's just another stick to beat us with and they will. Be sure of that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vince Green Posted February 13 Report Share Posted February 13 Make pigeons a quarry species and all this carp goes out the window Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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