Bleeh Posted July 17, 2009 Report Share Posted July 17, 2009 They know we can't fight back! http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/cornwall/8156734.stm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shot shot Posted July 17, 2009 Report Share Posted July 17, 2009 I have brown hair and I wasn't sure if the buzzard had mistaken me for a big, slow rabbit so I decided not to take any chances and invested in a hat. right.... solicitors eh?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeeinVA Posted July 17, 2009 Report Share Posted July 17, 2009 They know we can't fight back! http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/cornwall/8156734.stm Cuz they are like ****** with wings? Can you shoot one of them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozzy Fudd Posted July 17, 2009 Report Share Posted July 17, 2009 Cuz they are like ****** with wings? Can you shoot one of them legally no, but i wonder how self defence would stand up in court? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeeinVA Posted July 18, 2009 Report Share Posted July 18, 2009 legally no, but i wonder how self defence would stand up in court? dare not eat one either? Be greasy i reckon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozzy Fudd Posted July 18, 2009 Report Share Posted July 18, 2009 dare not eat one either? Be greasy i reckon wouldnt be as much meat as a wood pigeon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davie mac Posted July 18, 2009 Report Share Posted July 18, 2009 and you would be in Court as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jojusa Posted July 18, 2009 Report Share Posted July 18, 2009 I have brown hair and I wasn't sure if the buzzard had mistaken me for a big, slow rabbit so I decided not to take any chances and invested in a hat. I bet he had to invest in new pants also as that must have been a brown trouser moment when that thing hit him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poontang Posted July 18, 2009 Report Share Posted July 18, 2009 "I thought somebody had thrown some heavy sacking or carpet at me" Yeah, 'cos the first thing to go through my mind if hit on the back of the head would be 'Who threw that ******* carpet?' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swift4me Posted July 18, 2009 Report Share Posted July 18, 2009 Here in southwestern France buzzards have started to attack and successfully kill full grown healthy livestock including cattle. Before you say B.S., it is well documented. One of the believed causes is the proliferation of slaughterhouses that took place in northern Spain, not far for a bird, over the last fifty years. Now, with the "Green" movement, those slaughterhouses no longer leave so much offal outdoors, having to dispose of it more ecoligically. Given the long lifespan of these birds, they have had to look elsewhere for food. If a pack of crows can kill lambs, which they can, it is very possible that a group of vultures can overcome virtually any animal once the group gets involved. Once an animal has one or both eyes damaged or destroyed, there really isn't much it can do. I'm curious what some of you think, but the farmers here in the Basque cxountry are ready to fight over it. Of course the enviros say it is impossible as vultures only eat carrion, but if an animal is hungry, they will find new things to eat... or die. Pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slug Posted July 18, 2009 Report Share Posted July 18, 2009 "I thought somebody had thrown some heavy sacking or carpet at me" Yeah, 'cos the first thing to go through my mind if hit on the back of the head would be 'Who threw that ******* carpet?' :( :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lord_seagrave Posted July 18, 2009 Report Share Posted July 18, 2009 dare not eat one either? Be greasy i reckon Tastes a bit like osprey. LS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chard Posted July 18, 2009 Report Share Posted July 18, 2009 (edited) Here in southwestern France buzzards have started to attack and successfully kill full grown healthy livestock including cattle. Before you say B.S., it is well documented. One of the believed causes is the proliferation of slaughterhouses that took place in northern Spain, not far for a bird, over the last fifty years. Now, with the "Green" movement, those slaughterhouses no longer leave so much offal outdoors, having to dispose of it more ecoligically. Given the long lifespan of these birds, they have had to look elsewhere for food. If a pack of crows can kill lambs, which they can, it is very possible that a group of vultures can overcome virtually any animal once the group gets involved. Once an animal has one or both eyes damaged or destroyed, there really isn't much it can do. I'm curious what some of you think, but the farmers here in the Basque cxountry are ready to fight over it. Of course the enviros say it is impossible as vultures only eat carrion, but if an animal is hungry, they will find new things to eat... or die. Pete Buzzards aren't Vultures, not in the UK anyway. No way a Buzzard would kill a cow, that's getting silly . They're about the size of a chicken (or a lounge carpet) :lol: It might manage a mouse or a rabbit, but that's about it. Edited July 18, 2009 by Chard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pyr8 Posted July 18, 2009 Report Share Posted July 18, 2009 is south west france in texas,everthings bigger out there.mates dad was coming home piddled after a night in the pub.pulled his hanky out to blow his nose and got hit in the face by a barn owl.he thinks it thought his hanky was some kind of pray.but then he was very, very drunk. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shot shot Posted July 19, 2009 Report Share Posted July 19, 2009 this buzzard is out for blood http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/cornwall/8158022.stm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swift4me Posted July 19, 2009 Report Share Posted July 19, 2009 I've always heard when you live on an island that things are smaller.... but these are vultures with wingspans well over 5 feet. I apologize for calling them buzzards, as they are vultures. If you've ever seen four crows kill a lamb, then fifteen or twenty of these things going at a ewe or even a cow isn't such a stretch. Just so you know, they don't kill them by knocking them down. What is this bird you call a buzzard? Pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shot shot Posted July 19, 2009 Report Share Posted July 19, 2009 It's a very common raptor apparently 400'000 breeding pairs in the UK http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_Buzzard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swift4me Posted July 20, 2009 Report Share Posted July 20, 2009 Thank you shot shot for the clarification. They are called Buse here and in the US we'd call it a hawk. Anyway, I started my post thinking you guys were talking about vultures as we call them buzzards as a slang term. Read this. http://lib.colostate.edu/research/agnic/bi...dlivestock.html Vultures and Livestock Vultures that kill livestock become an instant concern to farmers and ranchers. Martin S. Lowney, a biologist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Wildlife Services Program in Virginia, responds to numerous complaints each year concerning black vulture attacks on cattle. From 1994-1996, in fact, more than 115 complaints were made. Lowney quickly points out that predation on livestock is almost exclusively caused by black vultures. Turkey vultures are often guilty only by association. They mix with groups of black vultures, scavenging what the black vultures leave behind. "When we get someone complaining about vultures killing their livestock," Lowney said, "we start quizzing them to get them to describe the vultures, so we can make sure they understand that there's 2 different species of birds. Their replies are pretty consistent. They describe: the little black one, the one that's aggressive, the one that's in gangs, the one that lets you walk up to within 20 to 30 feet of it." Black vultures mostly kill cattle, though attacks on deer and other wildlife have been recorded. They will occasionally attack adult cows giving birth, but primarily pounce upon new-born calves. Virginia has large commercial cattle operations and many calves are born on the open range or in pastureland. In the early weeks of life, a calf will let vultures approach it. The vultures, when close enough, then attack by grabbing a calf's eyeballs and pulling them out, blinding the animal. Alternatively, they may grab calves by the nose or the tongue. Once attacked, they go into shock and are easy pickings for the vultures. "I've seen 2 attacks in progress," Lowney said. "It happens so fast. I saw a group of 4 or 5 vultures sitting in a pasture. They walked up to a 1-day-old calf. Then, the mother, the cow, came over and stood over the calf and all of a sudden there were 15 or 20 vultures darting in and trying to poke the calf and grab it. The cow began charging at the vultures, scaring them away. She was stepping on the calf, and it was bawling because it was getting stepped on. That's when I broke it up." "On the same pasture, and the same day, there was a different calf attacked. This one was about 3or 4 days old. Again, there were about 15 or 20 vultures sitting there. One of them walked up to the calf and grabbed it by the nose, and another one grabbed it by the tail. Then the rest of them just came running over and started grabbing at it. I broke that up and ended up killing 2 of the vultures and harassing the rest of them away." Lowney acknowledges that there are few options available for him to help farmers and ranchers with vulture problems. Since vultures are protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, it is illegal to kill them without a permit. Though he will help farmers get permits, he also urges them to practice good husbandry by burying or burning dead animals and putting cows in close-by, easily watched pastures during the calving season. Alternatively, he can start them on a harassment program with firecrackers and other pyrotechnics. Black vultures, however, are very aggressive and very persistent and quickly become accustomed to scaring devices. Even if biologists can get the birds to leave, they may not go far. "I know in a few instances all I've done is just push the birds around the neighborhood," Lowney said. "Someone will call me up 2 days after I harass some birds and say that 80 vultures just showed up. I'll ask them where they live and then realize it's only a mile or a half-mile from the first guy. So, I start this next guy on a harassment program, the birds move on and I get a call from another farmer." Content: Laurie Paulik Last updated: 02/05/08 URL: http://lib.colostate.edu/research/agnic/bi...dlivestock.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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