SHOOTING TIMES & COUNTRY MAGAZINE • 11
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MAKINGTHEGRADE
Whatgradeis thatstock?
Howwoodis gradedand
what it actually means
GREEDYPESTS
Pigeonshootingover laid
barley in Essex.
FASHIONVICTIMS
Willwestillbewearing
tweedin 50 yearstime
orarethingsabout to
get technical?
OLDANDNEW
Schultz& LarsenSporter
ontest:a classicstalking
riflewithallthemodern
advancesinaccuracy
and design.
...AND MUCH MORE!
NEXT WEEK IN
‘‘Thewildlifeoftodayis notourstodisposeofasweplease.
We have it intrust.Wemustaccountforit to those who
come after.’’King George VI
lawrighttocarryoutthecontrol
pestsonfarmlandhasbecome
somethingthatyouareallowed
todounderlicence.
Aswehaveseen,a licencecan
berevokedaseasilyasit canbe
made.Whydowestandforit?
Wehavehadthegenerallicences
formorethan 30 years,butNE
renewsthemeveryyear—why?
Whyarewenotfightingtohave
thegenerallicencesremoved
andthelawwritteninto the Act
byamendment?
I. Summerell, Somerset
BACKTOBASICS
MrOldfieldgaveseveral
scenarioswheretheremight
bedoubtastowhetheryoucan
shootwoodpigeonorcorvids
outsidetheordinary(Letters,
10 July).Fora drivenshootthe
answeris yes,if thetopichas
beencoveredinthepre-shoot
briefing;if unsuremakesureyou
askbeforetheshootbegins.For
gamekeepersandfarmersthe
answeris alsoyes,giventhat
the killing of woodpigeons and
corvidsasopportunityariseswill
becontributingtothefarm’syear-
roundpestandpredatorcontrol.
It is clearlyanuntenable
situationwefindourselvesin,
giventhewaygenerallicences
arewritten,whichis theresultof
decadesofunnecessarytinkering
bycivilservantsandlawyers.
BASChasbeencallingfora back-
to-basicssimplifiedapproach
tothetermsandconditionsof
generallicencesformanyyears.
It hasunfortunatelytakena legal
challengeandensuingcrisis to
concentrateminds.
Defra’supcomingreviewof
generallicencesis anopportunity
tolookafreshattherelative
meritsoflegallydistinguishing
whenweshootbirdsforpest
controlandwhenweshootbirds
asquarry.Theoutcomewe
seekis thatanyoneshootingor
trappingpestbirdsinEngland
candosowiththeconfidence
ofknowingthattheyareacting
lawfully.Surelythatis not too
muchtoaskfor?
Inthemeantime,visitwww.
basc.org.uk/gl for the latest
updatesandhelpfulFAQson
generallicences,andif youare
a BASCmember,feelfreetocall
usforfurtherhelpandadvice.
DrC.O’Gorman,headofpolicy
and campaigns, BASC
STEELING
O U RSELV E S
Fora coupleofseasonsI have
beenonlybeenshootingwith
steelshot.I knowthatit has
itsdetractorsbutI findthatif
I useNo.5shotandonlytake
birdswithina sensiblerange,
it’sabsolutelyfine.Nobodycan
pretendthatthereis hugedemand
intheUKforgameand,atthe
sametime,thereis theanti-
shootinglobbyarguingthatlead
is badforpeoplewhobuygame.
Surelyit wouldbesensible
tomovetosteelbecauseit would
makegamemoresaleable?I
wouldbeinterestedtohearwhat
thelikesofBASCandtheBritish
GameAlliance,whoseemtobe
doinga goodjob, would have to
sayonthis.
Name and address supplied
ONTHEHOOK
PhilipSiddellexpresses
concernforthewelfareofthe
fishhehooks((WhyI’mno
longer taking photos of fish, 10
July),butif heis soconcerned
forfishwelfarewhyhook
theminthefirstplace?I ama
flyfisherman;I fishbecauseI
enjoyit,butI donotpretend
that fish are not traumatised by
beinghooked.Thisis justified
becauseI killandeatwhatI
catchandif I amfortunate
enoughtocatchmylimit,I stop
fishing.WhatI shootI eat too.
K. Salad, by email
Fishingtoeatwhatyou
catch is wholly justifiable