Shooting Times & Country – 07 August 2019

SPORTING ANSWERS

WILDLIFE

Wehaverecentlymovedto

a ruralsettinganddiscovered

wehavea colonyofbatslivingin

theroofofourlistedhouse.I would

beinterestedtoknowwhetherthey

willberesidentthereyearround

andwhethertheyarelikelytobe

noisyorcreatea smell.Also,if I

wishtomakestructuralalterations

totheroofandloftdoesthisrequire

anyformofpermission?I haveno

wishtoharmnorcauseanyserious

disturbancetothebats,which

I believeare pipistrelles.

Mostcoloniesofbatsareseasonal

and tend to leave after they have

bred.Pipistrellesroostintheeaves,

orunderwoodencladdingorhanging

tiles.Veryoccasionallya babybatwill

finditswayintoa roomoryoungsters

willfly throughanopenwindow.

Coloniescanoccasionallybenoisy

fora shortperiodinthesummerif they

areinsidecladdingbya window.There

is usuallynosmell, unless droppings

becomewet.

If youintendtocarryoutany

buildingworkthatmightaffectthe

colony,suchasre-roofingorloft

alterations,youmustinformEnglish

Naturebeforestarting— visitpo.st/

batsprotectformoreinformation.

Usually,it is simplya matterof

organisingtheworktoavoid the

bats’ breeding season.TJ

Bat protection in houses

FERRETING

Iamconvincedmyferrets
arenotactually working.
Howcan I tell?

Whenyouareworkingyour
ferrets,thebarometeroftheir
activityis usuallyhowlongit has
beensinceyoulastsawthem,their
demeanourwhensurfacingandthe
amountofrabbitsbolting.Some
ferrets— generallyhobs— are
plodders,slowandmethodically
scrutinisingthewarren,whereas
some,especiallyracyJills,tendto
bequick,likea wildpolecatorstoat.
Someferretsjustplodaboutandbolt
rabbitsasif almostbyaccident.
Whatyouwantis a ferretthat
listens,smellsandfeelsitsway
aroundtherabbitwarren.Thisway
it canlocateorfollowtherabbits
untiltheyhaveeitherbolted or
havegonetoa deadend.
If theferretssurfaceandare
relaxedandwanttowanderoff—
asopposedtocomingoutnosedown
andwantingtogobackdownthe
hole— norabbitswillbolt.Butif they
raceout,sniffandgobackdown,the
chancesaremorerabbitswillbolt.
Toreallytell,fill alloftheholesin
onceyouhavefinishedferreting—
youwillsoonknowif any rabbits
were left behind.SW

Work i ng

ferrets

50 • SHOOTING TIMES & COUNTRY MAGAZINE

Pipistrellestendtoroost

ineavesorunderwooden

cladding or hanging tiles

Hobscanbeploddersandjillscanbequick,
but you need to know if they’re really working

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