Shooting Gazette – September 2019

WWW.SHOOTINGGAZETTE.CO.UK SEPTEMBER 2019 47

GLwasissued.Thiswastotallyunfitforpurpose,with

onlyonesensiblestatementonthelastpage(page9),

whichread:“Thereis clearevidencethatwoodpigeons

causeseriousdamageto crops”.Whatdidthepreceding

eightpagessay?Clauseafterclause requiringthe‘non

lethal’methodsofmovingpigeonsfrom a fieldbeing

decimated. Twoof these werecomical. Onewasto

have “woodpigeon models with wings outstretched

showing white wing bars to give the impression of

dead birds”– just the technique we decoyersuse to

attractpigeons.Then“recordingsof woodpigeonalarm

callscanbeusedeffectively”.Woodpigeonsdon’thave

an alarm call. If this advice is representative of the

calibreof theNEstafflegislatingforthewelfareof our

countryside,whatchancehavewe,orthewildlife we

countrymentryto manageresponsibly?

ForseveralweeksI, and allpigeon shooters,could

not do our job of protecting crops without fearing

we were breaking the law, and if arrested would

immediatelyrisklosingourgunsandcertificates.

The then Environment Secretary Michael Gove

intervenedandputthematterin thehandsof DEFRA,

whichintroducedsomecommonsenseto thesituation

andon 14 JunereissuedtheoriginalGLas GL36subject

to amendments.This,then,is subjectto consultationto

considerthesubmissionsof all countrysideandfieldsports

groups,as wellas 4,000 individualsubmissions.Mine

focused on the importance of pigeon control and

how‘nonlethal’methodsjustmovedthecrop-eating

pigeonsto anotherfieldorfarm. Thosebirdsstilleat

cropsthatdaywiththeresultof notonlylossof profit

for the farmers but ultimately the reduction of the

nation’sfoodsupply.

The most powerful lobby should be the NFU,

representingallfarmerswhohavebeenfacingfinancial

losses. We pigeon shooters are the key to that

throughouttheyear. It is a symbioticwin, as pigeon

shooters, at their own expense, enjoy the shooting

challengeandfarmershavethebenefitof reducedcrop

damagebywoodpigeons.Allthisis commonsense,but

countrylogicis sadlynotthemindsetof WildJustice.

It is upto newEnvironmentSecretaryTheresaVilliers

and DEFRA to act as keepers to control those who

threaten our agricultural environment and wildlife –

a bigoted minority that is reluctant to acknowledge

theroleofthose whoaresuccessfully and responsibly

managing our countryside.

R

eluctantly, I couldn’twrite ofmyreactions
to the general licence (GL) fiasco before
now.Everyweekbroughtanotherdisastrous
chapter,andfora monthlymagazineonewriteseight
weeksaheadso therewasnowayof keepingup.
TheirresponsiblytimedactionbyNaturalEngland
(NE) to revoke the original GL in response to a
legal challengeby WildJustice, promoted by Messrs
PackhamandAvery,couldnothavebeenworse.The
GLhassuccessfullypermittedfarmers,keepers,pigeon
shootersand alllandmanagers tocontrolcertainbird
speciesthreateningstock,cropsorwildlife,particularly
corvidswhoeateggsandchicksin thespring.
Chris Packham is undoubtedly a lover of birds.
MarkAveryis anex-RSPBmansobothshouldhold
the welfare of birds paramount to their actions and
opinions.Butwhatdidtheydo?Theypresentedtheir
legal challenge at a time birds were nesting and subject

‘Non lethal’ methods just

move the pigeons to another

field or farm.

Pigeon shooting

My take on the recent general licence saga. By Will Garfit.

Spring of discontent

tothegreatestthreatbyeggandchick-eatingcorvids.
Thisactionwasdevastatingnotonlyto commongarden
birdsbutthoseincreasinglyrarecurlewsandwaderson
moorland,wildfowlonwetlandsandso manyred-listed
species,includingthegreypartridgeonfarmland.
For Natural England (NE) to revoke the GL on
23 Apriljustcompoundedthedisaster causedbyWild
Justice.HadNE respondedbyreviewing thesituation
after consultation and acted, if necessary, post-nesting
season,some resemblance ofrespect could have been
maintained.Thepresspickedupontheemotionalvision
oflambshaving theireyespeckedoutby crows.This
causeda publicoutcryandtwodayslateranindividual
licencescheme wasintroducedbyNEtohelpfarmers
takeaction.Thiswasthenrolledoutforall thoseaffected
bytherevokingof theGL,andso all farmers,keepersand
pigeonshooterswererequiredto applyforanindividual
licenceto legallycarryoutexactlythe same management
aswehadundertheoriginalGL.
SowhatdidNE achievebyrevoking thatoriginal
GL?It didn’tworkand likeme, I havenotheardof
anyofsome4,000 pigeonshooters whoappliedever
receiving one. Things staggered on and on 3 May a new