Shooting Times & Country – 17 July 2019

Expert tips and advice

Golf course vermin rules

Finding the

best ferret

SHOOTING TIMES & COUNTRY MAGAZINE • 87

FERRETING

Iamlookingatgettingsome
ferrets.Whichis yourfavourite
typeofferret for working?

Thisis suchanambiguous
questionthatI couldwritea book
onit,butI willtrytokeepit short.Each
andeveryoneofuslives,worksand
ferretsincompletelydifferentand
uniquelandscapesandwarrens.What
onepersonlikes,anotherdoesn’t, so
it is a matterofopinion.
Youhavea choice— a jillora hob?It
is thewarrenthatwilldictatetheferrets
andnumbersworked,addedtowhich
is thequestionofhowmuchdigging
youwanttodo.If youworklargesandy
warrensthatareextensive,youmay
favourworkinghobsbecausetheyhave
greaterenergyandstamina.Thejills
aremorefrantic,physically smaller
andhavelessstamina.
If youdon’twanttodigmuch,gofor
a jill,butif youwanttoboltandcatch
morerabbits,gofora hob.If youare
workingsmallerwarrensandthepipes
aretighter,it willbea jobfora jill.
Thisis thereasonwhyferreting
is nowa squadgame.Notwodays,
warrensorweatherarethesame,and
assuchit is always good to have options
andchoices.
Myfavouritetypeusuallycomesand
goes,becauseI likea squadtopickfrom.
If pushed,I wouldsaya goodlightor
white-colouredhobthatlikestostay
orworkuntilnothingmoreis around
to chase is my preference.SW

Ihaveanunpaidcontractto

protectthegreens,fairways,

bunkers,pondsandlakesona

localgolfcourseinEssex.Whatis

thenewlawregardingthecontrol

ofthevermin— specifically

rabbits,crows,rooks,pigeons,

magpiesandfoxes— thatare

causingthedamage?Bangers,

scarecrowsandotherscaring

deviceswouldnotbesuitable

foruseon a golf course.

Sofarasmammalianpests

areconcerned,thesearenot

affectedbytherecentproblems

withthegenerallicences.You

maycontinuetoshootrabbitsand

foxesasusual,providedthatyouare

observingtheconditionsofyour

firearmscertificateandoperating

safelyandtobestpractice.

Regardingthebirdspecies,Defra

secretaryMichaelGovehasissued

newgenerallicences.Theseenable

thecontrolofcertainwildbirds—

includingcarrioncrows,magpies

androoks— toconservewildbirdsand

toconservefloraandfauna;aswell

astopreservepublichealthorpublic

safety.Thereforeyoumaycontrol

carrion crows, magpies and rooks

byvirtueofthesetwolicences.Feral

andwoodpigeonsmaybecontrolled

forthepurposesofpreventingserious

damagetolivestock,foodstuffs for

livestock,crops,vegetables,fruit,

growingtimber,fisheriesorinland

waters,soyoumayalsocontrol

woodpigeonsandferalpigeons

byvirtueofthislicence.

Youmayusetheconventional

methodssuchasa Larsentrap,

a shotgunora rifle. Youmayalso

destroynestsand eggs of these

pestspecies.

Youhaveindicatedthatalternative

methods,suchastheuseofbangers

andotherscaringdevicesare

impractical.If thatis thecase,you

canproceedwithlethalcontrol such

asshootingortrapping.

Notethatthethreelicencesreferred

toabovedonotapplyoverEuropean

protectedsitesorRamsarsitesand

arespecific tothepurposesforwhich

theyareissued.If theactivitythat

youwishtoundertakeis notcovered,

orif youareunabletocomplywithany

ofthetermsandconditionsthatapply

totheuseofthelicences,youwill

needtoapplytoNaturalEngland

foranindividuallicence to carry

out control.GD

Yourchoiceofferretwilldependonthetypeof
work it is required to do — having a team is ideal

Foxesdonotfallunderthe

newgenerallicencesso

may be controlled as usual