Gun law: don't shoot first, shout
By Valerie Elliott
Countryfolk must try to scare off their prey before opening fire



COUNTRY sportsmen keen on pigeon pie will need to put the cat among them first. Farmers and landowners will also need to hone their windmill gyrations and scarecrow impersonations if they are planning a potshot at crop-eating birds.
The Government has ruled that it is now illegal to shoot a crow, rook or pigeon for the pot without scaring it first. The legislation says shooters must attempt to frighten off the birds before pulling the trigger.



Only when the birds fail to respond can he or she shoot it for dinner. The same rule applies to farmers who have shooting days blasting woodpigeons and rooks to protect their crops or gamebirds.

At this time of the year thousands of people pull on their camouflages for a day’s rough shooting. They are now acting unlawfully. They too must first engage in frightening techniques to disperse the birds. Only if their antics are ignored can they shoot legally. Failure to comply can result in a fine of up to £5,000 or a maximum six months in prison.

The new rules emerged this week when new “general licences†were issued covering the killing of pest species, which also include magpies, jays, collared doves, Canada geese, and greater and lesser black-backed gulls.

However, without warning, a new rule was added that states: “This licence can only be relied upon in circumstances where the authorised person can demonstrate that appropriate non-lethal methods of control such as scaring are either ineffective or impracticable.â€

The “licence†referred to means a general permission for everyone; it is not a piece of paper, it is simply a law. Firearms licences must still be applied for in the usual way.

There was uproar from country organisations but the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs denied that there was any change of law and issued a clarification. This has only added to the confusion, for it underlines that scaring must always be a precursor to shooting and that records of scaring may be required.

Defra said: “It is not a requirement that detailed records of non-lethal methods are kept, although this may be helpful under some circumstances. Users must however be able to explain why they believe that such methods are either ineffective or impracticable.â€

The Country Land and Business Association, the National Gamekeepers’ Organisation, the Moorland Association and the Countryside Alliance have lodged objections with the Government.

Clarissa Dickson Wright, a countrywoman and cook who enjoys cooking pigeon, said she despaired at the “fluffy bunny brigade†in the Government. She said: “Scare them off. Where to? To the next field or vegetable plot.

“What’s more, though possibly inadvertently, they have removed the countryman’s right to one for the pot.â€

The “open general licences†are to allow exemptions to the EU Birds Directive which protects all bird species. This allows any authorised person to shoot a pest bird to protect livestock, crops or human health or to prevent other damage to agriculture. An authorised person is anyone with a firearms licence but can also cover cage-trapping.

Defra said: “People have to demonstrate that they have looked at alternative, non- lethal measures. If these have not worked then, yes, they can shoot species thast are causing problems.â€

Just another example of the Left's pussification of the Human race! Only the populace can change these conditions.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-1511614,00.html

They should start a new television show over there: Bunny Huggers Gone Wild!!



-Bob F.

OK, ----- Boo Crows! ---

Will that do for the entire year?

I guess it will have to.

Whats next? Laws to protect mesquetos? Flee?

You must first scare those ants out of your kitchen?

You must honk your horn to scare bugs before you kill them with your windshield?

Damn, The April Fools are starting in March this year.

I guess chickens will be next to go on the protected bird list. Sheep and cattle to follow for big game. They will now be called Limeys, for eating lima beans, can not be killing and eating animals. Unless they died of old age.

Hog Killer

Just for balance:


Wis. Man Wants to Legalize Cat Hunting Monday, March 07, 2005 MADISON, Wis. — Hunter Mark Smith welcomes wild birds on to his property, but if he sees a cat, he thinks the "invasive" animal should be considered fair game.

The 48-year-old firefighter from La Crosse has proposed that hunters in Wisconsin make free-roaming domestic cats an "unprotected species" that could be shot at will by anyone with a small-game license.

His proposal will be placed before hunters on April 11 at the Wisconsin Conservation Congress (search) spring hearings in each of the state's 72 counties.

"I get up in the morning and if there's new snow, there's cat tracks under my bird feeder ... I look at them as an invasive species, plain and simple," Smith said.

Smith's proposal has horrified cat lovers, but is seen by others as a way to stop cats from killing wild birds. "

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,149659,00.html

Coues,

Gotta love shootin' cat--especially w/a 22 mag!

friar