Shooting Times & Country – 21 August 2019

SHOOTING TIMES & COUNTRY MAGAZINE • 11

Email your letters / [email protected]

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