26 WWW.THEFIELD.CO.UK
Letters LETTERSMAYBEEDITEDFORCLARITYORSPACE
Writeto:TheEditor,TheField,PinehurstII,PinehurstRoad,
FarnboroughBusinessPark,Farnborough, Hampshire GU14 7BF.
Email:[email protected]
OPENINGSHOTS
LETTERS
NEWLICENCEUSE
Defra’sreissuingofworkable
GeneralLicencesforpestbird
controlinEnglandwasdrivennot
leastbyexcellentjointworking
betweenourorganisations.In
ordertokeepthenewlicencesin
place,however,it is essentialthat
everyonewhousesthem,whether
tocontrolwoodpigeons,crowsor
anyotherspecies,doessocorrectly.
Thethreenewlicences‘tokill
ortakewildbirds’canbeaccessed
onthegov.ukwebsiteandare
numbered:GL34,forconservation
purposes;GL35,forpublic
healthandsafety;andGL36,for
preventingseriousdamage.They
aredetaileddocumentsandeach
is slightlydifferent;forexample,
thelistofspeciescoveredvaries
betweenthem.Nordothenew
GeneralLicencesapplyinEuropean
protectedsitesorwithin 300
metresofthem.Intheseareas
(SPAs,SACsandRamsarsites)an
individuallicencemustbeheld.
It is a legalrequirementthat
anyonerelyingona General
Licencemustfollowitstermsand
conditions.Failuretodosocould
leadtoa wildlifeoffencebeing
committed,carryinga six-month
prisontermandanunlimitedfine.
WethereforeurgeallField
readerstodownloadanylicence
onwhichtheyintendtorelyand
tomakesuretheyknowwhatit
allowsandhowbirdcontrolmust
becarriedout.Evensayingthe
wrong thing if questioned could
resultinprosecutionandperhaps
riskthecontinuedexistenceof
theseessentialtoolsforcountryside
management.Ourorganisationscan
providefurtheradviceif required.
IanBell(BASC),TimBonner(CA),
TimBreitmeyer(CLA),JimPaice
(GWCT),AmandaAnderson
(MoorlandAssociation),
LiamBell(NGO)
PleaseseearticleontheGeneral
Licence crisis on p14.Ed
TOPSHOTS
I alwayslookforwardtoseeingwho
hasmadethecutinyourannualTop
Shotsaccolades[Julyissue].This
year’sselectionneatlycoincided
withRoyalAscotandI snappedone
of your lady guns returning from the
racesinsomestyle.Althoughnot
a ‘topshot’,thephotograph[below
left]perhapsvindicatesmyB-Grade
inGCSEPhotography(circa 1991)?
Neil Cross, by email
I amflatteredtobeinTheField’s
2019 listofgrouseshots, an honour
I donotdeserve.
On 13 August1952,SirDenis
Stucley,myfatherandI (aboutto
turn13),walked-upforfourhours
roundBrendon-Two-Gateson
Exmoor.Thebagwasfourbraceof
grouse.Mygamebookentryreads:
“Quitefun,but a really endless walk.
I shotone.”
I wouldlovetoknowwhether
thereis anyonealivewhohasshota
grouse as far south as that. I imagine
theydisappearedfromExmoorjust
a fewyearsafter this outing.
NickPeto
Chadlington, Oxfordshire
PICTURETHIS
WhenI metmywife,wediscovered
wesharednumerousmutual
sportinginterests,onebeingscuba
diving.Eventhoughwewereboth
experienceddiverswediligently
kepta writtenrecordofeachdive.
Mywifefinishedherwrittenrecord
witha sketchofa memoryfrom
thedive.Thiscouldhavebeenof
somethingshesawonthedive,an
amusingincidentthathappened
onthediveboat,oraninteresting
fellowdiver.Flickingthroughher
divelogbook,it waseasyforherto
rememberthedivesbythesketch.
Mylogentrieswereaccurateand
factualbuthardertorecallas
therewasnosketch.SoI started
endingthedivedaylogwith an
accompanyingsketch.
I copiedthisideatomyshooting
records,soratherthanmerely
recordingtheday’sgameshooting
eachis accompaniedbya sketch.
Theserangefroma memoryofan
amusingincident,beit involving
a gun-dog,thedresscodeofa
fellowenthusiast,thevenue,food,
transport,weather.Whenlooking
backthroughyearsofexperiences
it helpstobringthedayand
experiencebacktolife.Tryit,you
don’thavetobeanaward-winning
artisttohavesome fun.
MarkSmith,
California, USA
ORCHIDBLOOMS
I noticedthatonefollowerofThe
FieldonTwitterdescribedhowhe
hadhadthehonourofDesertOrchid
paradingwithhishounds,the
DunstonHarriers,atHolkham Show
[#TheField,Julyissue].
Ithoughtyoumightbeinterested
inthispicture[page28]ofDesert
Orchidinretirementoutautumn
huntingwiththeSinnington,when
I was hunting the hounds during
ANOTHER COUNTRY
“I HOPE YOU’RE NOT GOING OUT WEARING THAT.”
