Always recce your land for new activity.

[mark williams 7,557]

Well lads, as you know, i like to go walk about , no gun but be on top of my patch.

                    A section of this farm has an area that is out of the way but my GSP kept marking this area in the winter months so i thought i`d take another look.

                    I sat Kaiser for this photo but take note with the trees and crop bend - i always walk him into the wind and here he is on scent, not taking his nose out of the breeze for one second.

Very keen hunting dog is Kaiser and he took me to this patch of damaged crop.

Now i know this is rabbit trouble but it`s not hard to take a photo or two. If this was Wood Pigeon trouble you would cover yourself with the latest GL and plod by showing them the proof. 

The area in total is a good 400 yards by 3 yards wide and needs addressing.g.

Here`s the proof, loads of rabbit crap everywhere.

                   So i`ll be shooting rabbits for a while now.

 

                                    atb  Mark.

                   

 

[villaman 9,983]

Yes needs doing ,get to know your land and damage ,so these spots can be shot 

I probably spend more time walking around my permission with the dog and no gun , just to see damage areas 

[Rez 4,961]

Great post Marko. Pooch is looking boss as usual.

This posies another question mind to us all, I see you mention that you'd 'cover yourself with the new GL', but Id perhaps anticipate that there has to be much more damage than that [from the woodies like, I know thats bugs and just an example]... I dont know why, but an area probs 5 metres squared, if that, wouldn't be reason enough. Im not saying your wrong at all, but just putting the question out there. Naturally, we cant only see one side of your field there, no idea about the rest of the field.

How much damage if justifiable damage? Ones opinion, yours, mine or whoever, would be different to another... This is just another hurdle with it all mess.

[mattwhite 1,993]

In my opinion, if there is any damage then its justified rez however large ao small, its someones livelyhood and cost to their business then to us as the consumer.

Slightly different rules to bunnies though as im sure i read that ALL landowners are under a legal obligation to control the numbers or rabbits on their land. Not sure where i read it but i will dig it out.

[mattwhite 1,993]

Bit boring but worth knowing

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/rabbits-how-to-control-numbers

[j j m 6,540]

nice post bud

[Rez 4,961]

7 hours ago, mattwhite said:

Bit boring but worth knowing

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/rabbits-how-to-control-numbers

Boring.

x

[Rez 4,961]

8 hours ago, mattwhite said:

In my opinion, if there is any damage then its justified rez however large ao small, its someones livelyhood and cost to their business then to us as the consumer.

Slightly different rules to bunnies though as im sure i read that ALL landowners are under a legal obligation to control the numbers or rabbits on their land. Not sure where i read it but i will dig it out.

So a couple of pigeons... chompin the peas... would you say that’s ‘justified damage’? Just two pigeons? Not sure that would hold up myself. As much as I’d like it too course

We’re back to normal if that were the case perhaps.

x

[mattwhite 1,993]

7 hours ago, Rez said:

So a couple of pigeons... chompin the peas... would you say that’s ‘justified damage’? Just two pigeons? Not sure that would hold up myself. As much as I’d like it too course

We’re back to normal if that were the case perhaps.

x

I agree completely that thats hardly decimating a crop but..........this is where we need someone with real common sense to word the general licence because when we see those woodies flighting in to roost, they are doing no harm at all but we know full well what they feed on and what they will be having little birdy dreams about feeding on tomorrow so i think that like rabbits, certain, if not all quarry that was revoked should be allowed to be managed in the same way to prevent the inevitable

Que a backlash

[Rabid 1,936]

It’s not just about stopping damage, you also have good reason to ‘’prevent damage’’

 

However you still wouldn’t be covered by GL as you must have tried (and recorded) all other non lethal methods first.

[mark williams 7,557]

Regardless of all manner of pigeon control I have found that wood pigeons are taking on a feral pigeon role of survival in city parks, town areas, town parks , gardens etc, etc,etc.

                        In my areas the wood pigeon numbers are through the roof as all local farming is arable, all crops.

                        Left unchecked these numbers will become 10 fold in just a few seasons.

                        One, two or twenty two they need controlling with whatever means and preferably just how we were and even then their numbers were still steadily growing.

[Rabid 1,936]

13 minutes ago, mark williams said:

Regardless of all manner of pigeon control I have found that wood pigeons are taking on a feral pigeon role of survival in city parks, town areas, town parks , gardens etc, etc,etc.

                        In my areas the wood pigeon numbers are through the roof as all local farming is arable, all crops.

                        Left unchecked these numbers will become 10 fold in just a few seasons.

                        One, two or twenty two they need controlling with whatever means and preferably just how we were and even then their numbers were still steadily growing.

Agreed on all points with the exception of numbers still steadily growing, ive not seen the same amount of them around for a few years, no large flocks, what I have seen is lots of smaller flocks more widespread, before we were getting large areas hammered, one, two, three acres or more in one sitting, now it’s 20 square yards here there and everywhere all over the fields, the flight lines are broken up as well, I think a lot of that is to do with the weather been so mild and no long harsh spells of snow and frost, lots of natural fruit and berries available to them in the hedgerows.