SHOOTING TIMES & COUNTRY MAGAZINE • 11
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WILDFOWLINGSPECIAL
GoodnewsforGuns:this
couldbea vintageyear for
geese numbers.
INTHEOPEN
Areduckhidesreally
necessary for good sport?
RARINGTOGO
Howtogetreadyforyour
dog’s fi rst day in the fi eld.
FRESHPASTURES
Howtojoina new
wildfowlingclubandstudy
the unfamiliar ground.
...AND MUCH MORE!
NEXT WEEK IN
‘‘Thewildlifeoftodayis notourstodisposeofasweplease.
We have it intrust.Wemustaccountforit to those who
come after.’’King George VI
qualitytoday.If heis still alive,
hemustbeveryold.
J. Marchington, Surrey
HEARINGSAFETY
MattCross’sarticlewassuperbly
writtenandpresented(Don’t
riskit!, 7 August).I wouldurge
allreaders,shootersornot,to
takethearticle,orextractfrom
it,toworkif youareina noisy
environment.If youarenot
working,passit ontosomeone
whois.I amsureweallknow
ofpeoplewhoareinindustry
ofonesortortheother.
A quiet,calmapproach
towardstheworkplacehealthand
safetyrepresentative,without
any emphasis on shooting, may
wellassistinsavingyouorothers
fromhearingharmeithernow
orlaterinlife.Thisinturncould
wellhavea benefit forourcash-
starvedhealthorganisation(s).
I am in the process of re-writing
theHealthandSafetyExecutive
(HSE)riskassessmentswhere
I workandthedetailwithinthis
articlewillmost certainly be
anasset.
N. Baker, by email
GOATSDOROAM
Ontheafternoonof
3 AugustmysonandI were
viewinganareaofforestry
landinoneofthemost
remote,inaccessibleareas
ofnorthNorthumberland.
Weknowthewildlifeofthe
areawell.Weoftenseeroedeer
andredsquirrelsandevenrarer
speciessuchasgoshawksand
henharriers.However,never
innearly 70 yearsoffarming
andshootinghad I ever seen
a wild goat.
Onthatafternoon,ina small
hiddendip,westumbledonto
whatweatfirstthoughtwasa
herdofdeer.Thenallhellbroke
looseasthegroupofdark,
shabby-coatedcreatures,with
longspirallinghorns,tookoff
asif thehoundsof hell were
behindthem.
Bythetimemysonhadhis
new-fangledcameraworking
togeta shotofa fewstragglers,
themainherdhaddisappeared
overthebrowofa largeclear
fell.Inthewholeofmyfarming
andshootinglifeI havenever
comeacrosssuchterrifiedand
traumatisedanimalsbehaving
thiswayatthesightofhumans.
I nowrealisewhythese animals
aresorarelyseen.
If thewindhadnotbeen
inourfavour,I amquitesure
thosegoatswouldhave
disappearedlongbefore
wediscoveredthem.
D. Valks, by email
Feralgoatsinsomepartsof
theUKareunaccustomed
to human beings
Our piece about ear defenders sets the bar for workplace safety