Shooting Times & Country – 07 August 2019

10 • SHOOTING TIMES & COUNTRY MAGAZINE

LETTERS

ALAMY

Save our hares — before it’s too late

LastDecember,ona shootday

inDerbyshire,I founda recently

deceasedhare—it wasstilljust

warm—withnoobvioussignsof

causeofdeath.Anotherlivehare

wasincloseproximityanddid

whatharesdo,sittingtightuntil

thelastminuteandsurprising

usbysuddenlyburstingfrom

underourfeet.Wehavea strict

‘nogroundgame’policysowe

knowshehadn’tbeenshotat,

butwedonotknow what the

neighboursdo.

Beinga keenShotwho

nolongershootshares,and

beingawareoftheplightof

haresnationwideatpresent,

thecountrymaninmewanted

toknowwhyshehaddied.So

I tookherhomeandmadea

fewtelephonecalls.TheGWCT

putmeintouchwithProfessor

Diana Bell at University of

EastAngliawhois studying

theproblem.‘My’harefound

herwaythereforscientific

researchpurposesandduring

somerecentcorrespondence

withProfBell,I wasinformed

thatharesarestilldyingin

numbersacrossthecountry.

Pleaseraiseawareness

amongtheconservation-

mindedreadershipandinclude

thelinkbelowtotrytohelp

ProfessorBellfindthecause

ofthemysteriousdeaths of

ourbelovedhares.

Tofurtherthisresearch

a JustGivingpagehas

beencreated;visitpo.st/

hareresearch.Thevalueof

harescannotbeoverestimated

andI believeit is a mostworthy

cause.Ourcountrysidewould

surelybea poorerplacewithout

these beautiful, enigmatic

creatures.Weneedtoact

nowbeforeit’stoolate.

J. Olifent, by email

TheEditorresponds:We

havebeenfollowing,with

greatconcern,theplight

ofourcherishedharesand

SimonWhitehead,our

ferretingexpert,hasworked

inconjunctionwithProfBell

ontheissue(Splittinghares,

18 July 2018 andCanwe

s aveth eha re?, 27February).

Simon’sadvicewas:if you

finda deadhare,wearing

disposablegloves,double

bagthebodyandfreezethe

carcaseif possible.Take

photographsofit.Youcan

[email protected]

orJonathanDavis,

tel 07872

149147.

LETTER OF THE WEEK

MODERNDRESS

ThoughI enjoyedreadingthe

articleaboutshootingattire

(Suitsyounow,sir, 24July)I can’t

entirelyagreewiththeauthor’s

sentiments.I realisethattweed

hasa longanddistinguished

associationwithfieldsports

andcountrylifeingeneral,but

havefoundthatthemodern

alternativesaresimplymuch

morepracticalforuseinthefield.

Thetruthis thatlastmonth

I gavemytweedshootingcoatto

a youngercousintohelphimget

startedinthesport.It’swarmand

itspatentwaterprooflinerwill

servetheyoungsterwelluntil

hecanaffordtobuya new coat

ofhisownchoice.

OvertheyearsI foundthat

tweedsoaksuprainlikea sponge

andrealisedtheweightofthe

dampmaterialwashavinga

negative effect on my shooting

onwetdays.However,itsmodern

fleece-materialreplacementis

lighter,durableandis machine-

washableandhalfthepriceof

thetweedcoatI gavemycousin.

Mindyou,a goodtweedsports

jacketlookssmartenough for

anysocialoccasion.

OnthematteroftiesI also

havestrongopinions.I remember

attendinganearlySeptember

partridgeshootwhenit was

simplytoohottoweara tieand

I optedtoweara greenpoloshirt

insteadofa constrictingshirt

andtie.Oneoldchap—who

wasdressedintweedbreeks,

shirt,waistcoatandtie—asked

mebeforethefirstdriveif I was

intendingtogotothebeach.

ButI noticedthatbymiddayhe

wassweatingprofuselyandhis

complexionwasasredas the

proverbialbeetroot.

Toomuchis madeof

appearance on formal shoot days.

I’dratherstandnextto

a ‘scruffy’gentlemanwho

understandstheetiquetteofthe

fieldratherthana well-dressed

‘sportsman’whothinksgame

shootingandclayshootingare

bothcompetitivesports.

S. G. Thompson, by email

TheEditorresponds:Some

seasonsagoonsmartAngus

grousemoorI washuffingand

puffingmywayupa hillwhena

friendlymandressedina polo

shirt,shortsandwalkingboots

appearedonthehorizon.Some

minuteslaterhefellintostep

besideme,beatenthusiastically

foronedrivethenwanderedoff

again.I brieflythoughthewas

somesortofthirst-induced

miragebuta laterconversation

witha keeperconfirmedthatthe

casuallydressedguywasthe

owneroftheestatewholooked

on beating as ‘good exercise’. He

ISSN:0037-

Thisweek’scoverimagewas

captured by Andy Hook

ShootingTimes,TIMediaLtd,

Pinehurst2,FarnboroughBusinessPark,

Farnborough, Hampshire GU14 7BF.

Foreditorialenquiries:

[email protected]

01252555220

Forpictureenquiries:

[email protected]

Subscriptionhotline:

03303331113

[email protected]

EditorPatrickGalbraith

DeputyeditorEdWills

[email protected]

BrandassistantSarahPratley

01252555220

GroupartdirectorDeanUsher

ArteditorRobFarmer

PictureeditorM a xTre m l e t t

Chiefsub-editorSarahPotts

Deputychiefsub-editorNicolaJaneSwinney

[email protected]

Sub-editorRichardReed

[email protected]

Newseditor/DigitaleditorCharlottePeters

[email protected]

http://www.shootinguk.co.uk

ManagingdirectorKirstySetchell

GroupmanagingdirectorAdrianHughes

Classifiedadvertising

FelicityBateman-Wood 01252555205

[email protected]

Displayadvertising

RebeccaNorris 07929369204

[email protected]

CharleneHomewood 07815712678

[email protected]

LaurencePierce 07971605143

[email protected]

Groupadvertisementmanager

StuartDuncan

[email protected]

Advertisementproduction

TonyFreeman

[email protected]

Innovator(forlooseandbound-ininserts)

02031483710

Can’tfindST? 02031483300

Backissues 01795662976

[email protected]

ShootingTimesis theofficialweeklyjournal

ofBASCandtheCPSA

BASCMarfordMill,RossettLL120HL

Tel 01244573000

CPSAPOBox750,Woking,GU240YU

Tel 01483485400

Wewords.reserveLetterstherightwillnottoeditbeusedletters.unlessNolettertheauthorshouldis preparedexceed 250

Letterstohaveshouldtheirnamebeaddressedandcountyto:ofTheresidenceEditor,Pinehurstpublished.2,

[email protected],Hants,includeGU14a daytime7BF,ortelephone email

number and postal address.

ThewinnerofLetteroftheWeekwillreceivea

BrowningPowerfleece.Warmandpractical,it isideal

forboththepegandthepubandisavailableinsizes

S-5XL.Formoreinformationvisitwww.browning.eu.

Colour dependent on availability.

IN ASSOCIATION WITH BROWNING