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
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