killing vixens with cubs

[Macky 227]

just been chatting with a few lads ,I go hunting all year round and have heard over the years that people that go out killing vixens who have just had cubs ,are usually the same people that whinge and whine about vixens being killed in March and April leaving cubs behind.These people do not seem to have the same morals when they go out and kill easy cubs in august and september ,why do they not have enough scruples to stand by what they so call believe in and only go out in november ,december when they are fully grown .This goes for all walks of hunting pre ban with lurchers ,shooters,snarers,and cage trappers ,Practice What You Preach .

[The Seeker 3,048]

My opinion is we try to be as humane as possible, however when controlling an animal for pest purposes sometime there can be no alternative, personally like now I will try to shoot buck rabbits than milky does but at the end of the day I'm there on the farmers land to carry out a job and the same goes for foxes.

 

[richmcgin 32]

Macky i think this is a question that i ask myself every year, in previous years i have been a part of management programes that culled out selected animals unless there where problemed foxes that needed to be taken care of, but since the hunt ban, that has all but gone out of the window, i try my best not kill vixens until about june and would like to say i dont touch the cubs till next year but it is not always the case, personaly i think that there should be a short closed season but i think that would be counter productive and would be a step toward protection a kin to the badger situation, the protection of badgers was i think made in 1974 and was to stop Badger baiting, the protection of badgers has caused alsorts of problems as we all know. i can honestly see that some time in the near future the fox could become the next animal to gain protection due to the mass killing that has occured since the hunting ban, as responsible sportsman and vermin controlers we should all look at our approach to our quarry and protect the future of our sport, if management plans are what is required to do that then so be it.

[tegater 789]

Where I shoot on the hill farms up north on the pennines, foxes get no favours. Like it or not a vixen with cubs, is a vixen that has to kill to feed. (and yes I know a lot of what they eat is small animals and carrion)

 

A hungry fox will and do, take weak new born lambs, and will also hammer the grouse nests, and many other things.

 

In the arable parts of the country you might have the choice to be selective, but where livelihoods depend upon as many lambs surviving as possible then you don't.

 

I don't shoot foxes for "sport" I do it for necessity and the wish of the farmers.

[worthy130 21]

As a Gamekeeper I can not afford to be leaving foxes while they are breeding. Shoot the vixen, shoot the dog/any other that are feeding the cubs, then get the cubs sorted! Fox shooting isn't 'sport' its pest control!

[richmcgin 32]

Sure there are plenty of people out there that shoot foxes as part of their daily duty, but there more that shoot for sport, alot of people will try and say they dont shoot them for sport and that they do it as vermin control but in reality thats not the case, i shoot for sport, sure i get calls to deal with problemed animals but i do it out of choice because i enjoy the hunt, if i dont do it there are plenty of others that will. and most of them will be doing it for the same reasons as me. and its the increase of shot foxes since the hunting ban that concerns me.

Make no mistake i give no quarter to problemed foxes be they vixens or dogs but i dont like to shoot vixens at this time of year.

For those that shoot foxes as part of their daily duties in protection of their livelyhood they do it as part of countryside management for those that do it to protect other peoples livelyhood and for no reward they are sport shooters.

[whippet 99 2,613]

just been chatting with a few lads ,I go hunting all year round and have heard over the years that people that go out killing vixens who have just had cubs ,are usually the same people that whinge and whine about vixens being killed in March and April leaving cubs behind.These people do not seem to have the same morals when they go out and kill easy cubs in august and september ,why do they not have enough scruples to stand by what they so call believe in and only go out in november ,december when they are fully grown .This goes for all walks of hunting pre ban with lurchers ,shooters,snarers,and cage trappers ,Practice What You Preach .

if you can , would prefer to move them, especially when cubs are on flesh, they still need a helping hand tho. some keepers want to see you shoot the lot for peace of mind. some people got to kill everything and any thing any where, i prefer the sporting chance but sometimes needs must. trouble is keepers need pest control this time of year before poults are in , as they dont want much disturbed around the pens later on

[whippet 99 2,613]

Sure there are plenty of people out there that shoot foxes as part of their daily duty, but there more that shoot for sport, alot of people will try and say they dont shoot them for sport and that they do it as vermin control but in reality thats not the case, i shoot for sport, sure i get calls to deal with problemed animals but i do it out of choice because i enjoy the hunt, if i dont do it there are plenty of others that will. and most of them will be doing it for the same reasons as me. and its the increase of shot foxes since the hunting ban that concerns me.

Make no mistake i give no quarter to problemed foxes be they vixens or dogs but i dont like to shoot vixens at this time of year.

For those that shoot foxes as part of their daily duties in protection of their livelyhood they do it as part of countryside management for those that do it to protect other peoples livelyhood and for no reward they are sport shooters.

understand shooting rifles for pest control but not for sport as your quarry doesnt have much chance when the cross hares are on it.

just my opionion. people say its cruel to kill foxes with hounds etc , but what they dont understand is a hound will never wound a fox like a gun will , they either catch or they dont and it is instant. people shoot foxes with the wrong ammo, wrong distances and they die slow painfull deaf. i can see your sport with shot guns tho

[richmcgin 32]

o

[richmcgin 32]

o

[richmcgin 32]

you would be surprised how much of a chance they do have even when the cross hair is on them, i could give you many accounts of times when i thought i had a fox bang to rights but the variables stacked up and the fox won the day. but i totaly agree about the wrong ammo and wrong distance which in my opinion means wrong shooter. with all that said i think it much more humane to shoot a fox dead than chase it round the countryside for hours on end.

[nasher1 258]

Since the hunting ban came about fox shooting has now become a sport in itself the number of applications and variations for CF calibres for foxing has rocketed, a chap who shares one of my permissions has just put in for a .222cf not that foxes are a problem on this land or he's been asked to by the farmer its just that he fancies shooting some foxes, I personally am not keen on this but at the end of the day he's legally within his rights to do it and I would support his right to do it rather than tap another nail in the fieldsports coffin. atb nasher

[tegater 789]

Sure there are plenty of people out there that shoot foxes as part of their daily duty, but there more that shoot for sport, alot of people will try and say they dont shoot them for sport and that they do it as vermin control but in reality thats not the case, i shoot for sport, sure i get calls to deal with problemed animals but i do it out of choice because i enjoy the hunt, if i dont do it there are plenty of others that will. and most of them will be doing it for the same reasons as me. and its the increase of shot foxes since the hunting ban that concerns me.

Make no mistake i give no quarter to problemed foxes be they vixens or dogs but i dont like to shoot vixens at this time of year.

For those that shoot foxes as part of their daily duties in protection of their livelyhood they do it as part of countryside management for those that do it to protect other peoples livelyhood and for no reward they are sport shooters.

Why the concern about foxes. What about the squirrel with young, the woodie with squabs, the rabbits with kits, the crow, the magpie the jay, all with young. There is to me absolutley no difference in the ethics of shooting them.

 

If you say you shoot for "sport" then perhaps you should bring in your own close season, and abide by it. As I previously stated there are areas of this country where there is no choice in the matter.

 

As to the numbers of foxes getting shot and trapped and wired, year on year my numbers are generally increasing, and that can only be happening if there is a healthy population of them. I have never killed a mangy city fox up our way, so they are not getting dropped of either.

 

For those that might not quite agree with me, or disbelieve I only shoot them to keep the farmers/keepers happy, I have one farm, that rears cattle and foxes are not considered a problem. Guess what, I dont shoot foxes there and I am not asked to. (also it doesnt border my other permissions)

[Guest joball]

you would be surprised how much of a chance they do have even when the cross hair is on them, i could give you many accounts of times when i thought i had a fox bang to rights but the variables stacked up and the fox won the day. but i totaly agree about the wrong ammo and wrong distance which in my opinion means wrong shooter. with all that said i think it much more humane to shoot a fox dead than chase it round the countryside for hours on end.

 

Excuses excuses your just a shit shot !

[Guest joball]

My opinion is we try to be as humane as possible, however when controlling an animal for pest purposes sometime there can be no alternative, personally like now I will try to shoot buck rabbits than milky does but at the end of the day I'm there on the farmers land to carry out a job and the same goes for foxes.

 

 

This ones got to be the best comment yet try to shoot bucks only and leave the does pmsl fantastic.