Idiots! Shot Heron

[bwfc 164]

I know a commercial fishery owner that will protect his stock regardless,and he often does.In the last several years,Otters,Herons,and Comorants have been on his hit list.It got that bad in the first few years that he lost % of his yearly income and nearly went under.Its took over a hundred grand to fence his land and restock his two waters.

The decimation of the waters nearly led to a divorce and him contemplating suicide!.Stack that against an Otter,heron or Cormorant,i know which i would choose every time!!.

[bigmac 97kt 13,816]

Make,s a nice change from arguing over the graham brothers :laugh: :laugh:

Edited April 22, 2013 by bigmac 97kt

[Mister Gain 1,764]

To those people who complain and say "the bloody thing took all my koi carp" I say tough! Is it natural for you to house non native fish in an artificial pond? No.

 

 

 

Depends on what your view is of the word 'natural' I suppose. I believe it is now natural to house non native fish in an artificial pond because that is exactly what they are bred for. Koi and other ornamental fish are bred in the UK, so could they now be classed as native? All about personal opinions and what is acceptable. I don't think it is particularly natural for a heron to eat a bright orange fish, but they do. Because they have adapted to 'easy pickings' from artificial ponds, doesn't mean we have to like or accept it.

I quite enjoy seeing herons in what I class as their 'natural' environment, but my pond, by it's artificial nature, is not their natural environment.

 

I fully understand the OP's concerns that someone has possibly been on his permission, and indiscriminately shooting an air rifle.

[Craig Fosse 286]

I might be completely out but I feel that I would be more annoyed with the fact someone has been on my permission rather than the fact of the species, herons are lovely birds but I'm sure in different circumstances other people should feel differently, I must admit I have learnt more about herons on this forum than I ever knew and a lot of people seem to have different opinions. The fact of the matter is tho, is that you do not know who was on your permission, for all you know the air rifle could be under powered and may not have killed the heron out right. Even if I started seeing dead rabbits and that around I would be annoyed, perhaps I have got the post wrong but it has side tracked quite a bit and we need answers to perhaps how the op goes about catching them .

[Taz-n-Lily 62]

First off, the OP is right to be annoyed that someone shot a heron on his permission, whichever way you cut the cake.

If the bird had been flying to garden ponds and someone shot it with an airrifle and it made it back to the pond wounded, that's wrong.

If someone without permission shot the bird on private land that's wrong too.

 

I have a vested interest in ponds - I manage the first semi-wild smolt rearing pond on the Wye. If any kind of fish-kill happened on my watch I'd be bloody furious. It's unlikely to though, and here's why.

We have the whole pond netted off against avian predation.

We have a battery-powered electric fence round the whole pond against otter predation.

We have two outlets (the pond is naturally spring-fed). One is closed off until the fish are released into a brook which feeds into the Wye. The other is meshed off in case a mink gets in.

I often see a heron sitting in a tree above the pond watching - he/she is very welcome to watch.

 

On the Wye we have extensive young fish predation from cormorants, goosanders and herons, as well as chub, trout, pike and anything big enough to take a young salmon before it makes it out to sea. We've worked around this to some degree, because it's just not practical to kill every predator, by ensuring that our young fish feed themselves in a natural pond, and are "street-wise" before they leave the pond. They are in optimum health and can look after themselves. Out of 5000 this year, if 5% come back to spawn we'll be happy.

 

So what I am saying is that yes, under some circumstances a cull may be necessary on some species, but each circumstance is different, and it's better to work with/around nature, wherever possible, than against it.

 

Semi-natural rearing (SNR) ponds began in the Mirimishi, and are now also used in Scotland to increase the numbers of young salmon. They are successful and time-proven. Here in mid-Wales we hope to roll out our SNR pond project so that within a very few years we are introducing 100,000 fish into the river each year (sorry - bit off-topic - just wanted to make that point).

 

Two other points - the cull licence should be increased where necessary, and the Otter Trust (or whoever they are) who mend injured otters and release them into the wild, along with orphan otters, should be prosecuted for animal cruelty, along with the Fox Trust. The bloody things are tame (in both cases), and will naturally go where the feeding is easiest and the danger from being shot is highest.

Edited April 27, 2013 by Taz-n-Lily

[fry 209]

First off, the OP is right to be annoyed that someone shot a heron on his permission, whichever way you cut the cake.

If the bird had been flying to garden ponds and someone shot it with an airrifle and it made it back to the pond wounded, that's wrong.

If someone without permission shot the bird on private land that's wrong too.

 

I have a vested interest in ponds - I manage the first semi-wild smolt rearing pond on the Wye. If any kind of fish-kill happened on my watch I'd be bloody furious. It's unlikely to though, and here's why.

We have the whole pond netted off against avian predation.

We have a battery-powered electric fence round the whole pond against otter predation.

We have two outlets (the pond is naturally spring-fed). One is closed off until the fish are released into a brook which feeds into the Wye. The other is meshed off in case a mink gets in.

I often see a heron sitting in a tree above the pond watching - he/she is very welcome to watch.

 

On the Wye we have extensive young fish predation from cormorants, goosanders and herons, as well as chub, trout, pike and anything big enough to take a young salmon before it makes it out to sea. We've worked around this to some degree, because it's just not practical to kill every predator, by ensuring that our young fish feed themselves in a natural pond, and are "street-wise" before they leave the pond. They are in optimum health and can look after themselves. Out of 5000 this year, if 5% come back to spawn we'll be happy.

 

So what I am saying is that yes, under some circumstances a cull may be necessary on some species, but each circumstance is different, and it's better to work with/around nature, wherever possible, than against it.

 

Semi-natural rearing (SNR) ponds began in the Mirimishi, and are now also used in Scotland to increase the numbers of young salmon. They are successful and time-proven. Here in mid-Wales we hope to roll out our SNR pond project so that within a very few years we are introducing 100,000 fish into the river each year (sorry - bit off-topic - just wanted to make that point).

 

Two other points - the cull licence should be increased where necessary, and the Otter Trust (or whoever they are) who mend injured otters and release them into the wild, along with orphan otters, should be prosecuted for animal cruelty, along with the Fox Trust. The bloody things are tame (in both cases), and will naturally go where the feeding is easiest and the danger from being shot is highest.

10,000 otters in the uk no one or nothing controlling the numbers its madness. only plus is the mink numbers are declining.