Smiling Assassins..

[foxtrotoscar 35]

Out this evening on a permission I don't visit that often. It's actually in the middle of another three permissions and well away from any roads. It has a footpath running through it and a horse paddock adjacent owned by people unknown to me, but who know I shoot there.

After a chance meeting with the farmer yesterday, I went as promised, to clear a few rabbits for him. I saw the paddock occupiers as I arrived and gave them a nod (which they acknowledged) and continued into the fields. Twelve rabbits later and heading back towards the track next to the paddock I see the all to familiar hi viz patrol car markings. Anyhow long story short I get stopped by a pleasant young WPC and asked a whole load of questions which I duly answered, followed by a call to the farmer by her. Turns out the bloody "smiling assassins" at the paddock, rather than ask me what I was doing/who I was, when they saw me arrive, decided to call out the police stating a poacher was shooting people on the footpath! Lol!! Seems the police had more sense than to believe this and sent a single crew'ed WPC rather than an ARU. I'm a bit pissed off TBH as this is the last permission I'd expect to inform them via the shooting diary as it's tucked up in the middle of six hundred acres, away from the public gaze apart from a seldom used footpath.

One positive out of the fiasco is the way the police dealt with it and I have no complaints about the handling of it. I had my licence with me in the car and secretly enjoyed watching her trying to grasp what she was supposed to read on on it!

Anyhow no harm done other than now a little wiser regarding assuming neighbouring people are onboard in future.

Edited June 6, 2016 by foxtrotoscar

[forest of dean redneck 11,722]

Can't stand two faced back stabbers.

[David.evans 5,323]

Phone the police up and ask for a log number , saves all that fecin hassle !

And if your unlucky a ARU visit ,

Ab

[walshie 2,804]

I expect the same paddock users would be whinging about why no-one was dealing with the rabbits if one of their horses bust its leg in a rabbit hole.

[foxtrotoscar 35]

I expect the same paddock users would be whinging about why no-one was dealing with the rabbits if one of their horses bust its leg in a rabbit hole.

The rabbits are mainly living in a safe haven of a hedgeline which borders their paddock. then speading onto my farmers crop (Grass) grown for silage. They should appreciate I have been using a moderator so far in that area..Lol.

Edited June 6, 2016 by foxtrotoscar

[walshie 2,804]

 

I expect the same paddock users would be whinging about why no-one was dealing with the rabbits if one of their horses bust its leg in a rabbit hole.

The rabbits are mainly living in a safe haven of a hedgeline which borders their paddock. then speading onto my farmers crop (Grass) grown for silage. They should appreciate I have been using a moderator so far in that area..Lol.

 

 

I hear it's best to use a 12 gauge. Just as they are trying to mount the horse.

[foxtrotoscar 35]

 

 

I expect the same paddock users would be whinging about why no-one was dealing with the rabbits if one of their horses bust its leg in a rabbit hole.

The rabbits are mainly living in a safe haven of a hedgeline which borders their paddock. then speading onto my farmers crop (Grass) grown for silage. They should appreciate I have been using a moderator so far in that area..Lol.

 

 

I hear it's best to use a 12 gauge. Just as they are trying to mount the horse.

 

I need to give my un-screwcut 22-250 some rounds through it... I could be a twat, but I think I'll be wiser to attempt to build a bridge. I've had a phone call from the farmer since posting this thread and he's sound, but I detect he doesn't want to fall out with the stables unnecessarily either. Discretion is the better part of valour as my old man used to say, so I'll be polite next time I see them, but will explain the problems and legal position "their" rabbits are creating for my landowners crop and advise them to check their own insurance policy position for lame horses due to rabbit diggings.

Edited June 6, 2016 by foxtrotoscar

[neiled 0]

 

 

 

I expect the same paddock users would be whinging about why no-one was dealing with the rabbits if one of their horses bust its leg in a rabbit hole.

The rabbits are mainly living in a safe haven of a hedgeline which borders their paddock. then speading onto my farmers crop (Grass) grown for silage. They should appreciate I have been using a moderator so far in that area..Lol.

 

 

I hear it's best to use a 12 gauge. Just as they are trying to mount the horse.

 

I need to give my un-screwcut 22-250 some rounds through it... I could be a twat, but I think I'll be wiser to attempt to build a bridge. I've had a phone call from the farmer since posting this thread and he's sound, but I detect he doesn't want to fall out with the stables unnecessarily either. Discretion is the better part of valour as my old man used to say, so I'll be polite next time I see them, but will explain the problems and legal position "their" rabbits are creating for my landowners crop and advise them to check their own insurance policy position for lame horses due to rabbit diggings.

 

Good point you make about them checking their insurance policy who knows they may even ask you to help out in their paddock.

[Welsh_red 4,746]

If you see them again as your walking they just shout at them " hiya how you doing? Lovely day for it isn't it " will freak them right out

[charlie caller 3,654]

I could be wrong here, but I suspect they are anti shooting/hunting, I would call down, and politely ask them to refrain from calling the old Bill next time they see you,as you are going about your lawful business, controlling rabbits for mr............. the farmer/landowner, a reminder that they are also legally obliged to control rabbit numbers on their ground, would not hurt matters also.

[Alsone 789]

All too common. I know a lot of people don't like informing the police of where they're going / what they're doing, but this shows the value of informing the police ahead of the trip. This could all too easily have led to an ARU being sent and you possibly being shot by mistake. It's far better to establish you're not a poacher ahead of any complaint and for the police to have a mobile number to contact you on. The whole he's shooting people allegation (if that police woman is correct in reporting that as said), of course is a whole other level / issue.

 

I agree entirely with your attitude about building bridges, far better to do that then antagonise the situation as you're likely to come across these people again in the near future. A smile over the hedge even if fake, is better than an argument / traded insults every time you appear! You also risk escalating it with damage to your car etc.

 

Having said that, one way you could have got your own back without the animosity as they'd never know it came from you, would have been to simply say to the police woman at the end of it, aren't you going to do anything about the caller wasting police time? It's one thing to report someone shooting on a field as potentially being a poacher, but another thing to allegedly lie and state they're actually shooting people. It's wasted your time and could have led to a full armed response and someone innocent getting shot. They shouldn't be allowed to get away with phoning in dangerous alleged lies like that when it could put the life of someone innocent in danger. That way you put it back on the police to at least verbally warn the caller, or maybe even caution / charge them with wasting police time or making false allegations, and as it apparently comes from the police considering the call after investigation, and not you making an allegation against the caller, it's unlikely any finger will be pointed in your direction. It may also make the caller think twice about calling again if they risk prosecution themselves.

 

You could do it post incident of course, but it then does point more to a complaint from yourself.

 

Personally, I'd like to see people prosecuted who lie to the police to simply get them out in these circumstances in such a dangerous manner. I could almost guarantee if you called the police and said there's someone with a gun shooting people in my street and they came out, and it was a pack of lies, they'd at the very least caution you, and most probably prosecute you for doing so. Yet it seems that if it involves complaints about country sports, it's forgiveable.

Edited June 7, 2016 by Alsone

[charlie caller 3,654]

Totally agree with the wasting police time thing, I wonder how they would have felt had an ARU turned up and some trigger happy rookie had shot you believing he/she was acting in the public interest (after all you were shooting people) however I do not agree we should be phoning police to inform them we are shooting on private property, with authority,I dont phone them and tell them I am going out on my motorbike,or off to the pub, so why the hell should I phone them and tell them I am going to a farm in the middle of nowhere to shoot, the only exception I would make to this is if I was shooting somewhere very sensitive, a golf course for instance looked over by houses, then yes I can see the merits in doing so, but other than an example such as that, forget it.

[walshie 2,804]

It must be annoying having to keep them sweet because of the farmer's relationship with these twats, but I can understand why.

 

It would be nice to go down there with a pump action shotgun and tell them you're going shooting, punctuate each sentence with a rack of the slide, and say if the police turn up "you'll be back."

 

Personally I wouldn't bother trying to keep them sweet, but I would tell them the score on legality and making spoof phone calls to the old bill.

[WoodsmanJim 160]

I agree in principle about calling the plod to inform them prior to a trip out, but mine started taking so long to answer the none emergency phone line that I gave up! I don't have time to sit about for 25 minutes ( I kid you not, it rang for 25 straight minutes before any picked it up!) before each time I shoot. I hope they are a bit better staffed where you are.

[foxtrotoscar 35]

Reading through the replies there are some good points. I do have some land that I email in to the shooting log when I go as it's opposite a pub, and for obvious reasons I cover my own back in the event of a drunk lobbing beer glasses at me.

I've had minor problems informing them in the past on other permissions as the police helicopter base is enroute via the flight path to the city. They have come and had a low level buzz when I'm there previously so I don't inform them any longer due to scaring the rabbits away.

Problem with having a dig at the paddock people is they may log any antagonistic comments and use them against me later. I was very careful to be compliant with the polices officer last night as my daughters a cop and advised me to always play the game as a report will likely be sent to the FLO if an "attitude" is shown to officers doing their job. Also if I wind the paddock lot up, my farmer will not want the grief, so best play low key for now.

Edited June 7, 2016 by foxtrotoscar