Comments on: I???m Not a Pheasant Plucker . . .

By: McEff

McEff — Wed, 06 Jun 2012 10:50:23 +0000

Hi Colin. That???s a valid point. There are people who shoot foxes because there is a need to control them, and people who kill them for the fun. It???s the same with game. My father had a 12-bore shotgun and used to shoot rabbits and pigeons. But everything went into the pot. At the other end of the scale, you have people who pay hundreds of pounds for a day shooting grouse above Arkengarthdale and Bowes, and it???s purely for sport and commercial gain.
I, too, have a lot of sympathy for your shepherd. Where I grew up, in the south of Cumbria, there were no fox hunts as such. The foxes were controlled by the local vermin club ??? ordinary working blokes with dogs and guns who didn???t mess about. They flushed a fox and shot it. They didn???t fill themselves full of sherry and chase it for miles on horseback.
Don???t get me going. Hope you had a great time in Scotland. I???m long overdue a journey up there.
Cheers, Alen

By: colingriffiths

colingriffiths — Wed, 06 Jun 2012 06:17:55 +0000

I was similarly angry when I read about this too whilst sitting in the car at Kyle of Lochalsh. I found two magpies in a trap the other week (and released them); and the trap wasn’t there to protect song birds, the shooting in the nearby wood gave that game away. I was chatting to a shepherd at Achneschellach last Friday who had lost some lambs to a fox. He was having difficulty controlling the fox population (around 50 in the glen) which he did by shooting at night in torch light. I had a lot of sympathy for him. Compare that to Leicestershire where woods, thickets and copses were maintained solely for the purposes of providing cover for foxes dens, flushing them out and chasing them for miles on horseback. Now that’s wrong. There’s a big difference between the needs of the shepherd and the artificially created needs of some rich folk who just want to blast their money away in a puff of gunpowder smoke and a bang. I was pleased to see the about-turn by the government!

By: McEff

McEff — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 11:06:12 +0000

Well that’s cleared that up, Diane. Apparently, no study has been done into how many young pheasants the UK buzzards kill. The numbers are thought to be relatively few. But that’s how things work in nature anyway. If you breed baby chicks and let them out into the wild, you can expect to lose a percentage to predators.
Cheers, Alen

By: Diane Pinkers

Diane Pinkers — Thu, 31 May 2012 21:44:11 +0000

Wikipedia makes reference to the genus Buteo, which are definitely referred to as hawks in the US, as distinct from eagles or falcons–the Red-tailed Hawk probably the most common (Buteo jamaicensis). Buzzard in the US is specifically Cathartes aura, the turkey vulture. I just hadn’t encountered that particular difference between US English and UK English. I’m less confused, now, as I was wondering what the heck a carrion eater had to do with diminishing pheasant population. Just when you think you know what someone’s talking about….

By: McEff

McEff — Thu, 31 May 2012 20:54:54 +0000

You???ve raised several points there, Diane, which I do not feel qualified to answer with any authority. But I???ll have a bash. In Britain, a buzzard is a large bird of prey, or raptor, smaller than an eagle though bigger than a hawk. We don???t have vultures here, so I can???t compare them. But according to Wikipedia (which seems to contradict itself), buzzards are sometimes referred to as hawks in North America, but they can also be American black vultures or turkey vultures. That???s confused me no end.
On the other point, the Minister for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is certainly not allowed to have illicit affairs with anyone in the countryside ??? of either gender. That???s not to say it has not happened in the past. And taking into consideration the fact that a former environment minister has just served a prison term for fiddling his expenses, I suppose anything goes. It???s a bit cold over here for affairs in the countryside, though. It???s much more comfortable indoors.
Keep on plucking, Alen.

By: Diane Pinkers

Diane Pinkers — Thu, 31 May 2012 20:01:50 +0000

I read the story from the link above, and I was wondering: when you say “buzzard”, is that what we call hawks in the US? There was a picture linked to the story, and it sure looked like a hawk to me, not a vulture, which is what we call buzzards hereabouts.
Also, is the Minister of the Department of the Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs allowed to have affairs with women in rural areas? Or is he just in charge of monitoring affairs that occur in the countryside? ;-)

By: McEff

McEff — Thu, 31 May 2012 13:06:12 +0000

Yes, we had a bit of a celebration in the office last night when this news came through. It would be nice to think that the oaf Benyon got both barrels of a 12-bore up his backside but I expect he was just taken aside and told to curb his enthusiasm for killing protected birds. It???s interesting how these things work. If I made a monumental blunder on that scale I???d be out of a job. But Richard Benyon, Wildlife Minister, will sit pretty until he makes another monumental blunder. It???s scary to think that people like him are in charge of the country. God help us. And the wildlife.
Cheers, Alen

By: McEff

McEff — Thu, 31 May 2012 12:55:15 +0000

It???s quite clear from this, Danny, that when some people break the law so brazenly, provided they possess wealth and influence they can come to a cosy agreement with the forces of law and order and legal proceedings will be brushed aside. If you or I did something harmful to the environment, say chopped a tree down that had a preservation order on it so we could have a barbecue after watching England play in Euro 2012, would the same arrangement apply? I think not.
Thanks for that, Alen

By: qdant

qdant — Thu, 31 May 2012 08:46:02 +0000

Richard Benyon, the Wildlife minister, was under pressure last night to explain what influence he had on a decision to drop landmark legal proceedings against a grouse-shooting estate that was burning peatland in a conservation area.
http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/nature/wildlife-minister-richard-benyon-under-fire-in-another-gameshooting-case-7801027.html

By: qdant

qdant — Wed, 30 May 2012 23:58:01 +0000

Buzzards free to nest in peace as minister drops shooting plans
http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/nature/buzzards-free-to-nest-in-peace-as-minister-drops-shooting-plans-7805078.html

By: McEff

McEff — Mon, 28 May 2012 11:37:33 +0000

Mark, it’s like standing in deep water, fighting against a current that’s taking us out into oblivion. What I can’t get my head round is the fact it happens every couple of decades. Don’t people learn the lessons of the past?
Cheers, Alen.

By: McEff

McEff — Mon, 28 May 2012 11:34:34 +0000

For another take on the buzzard story “the tory disease and is to allow gamekeepers to smash Buzzard nests and imprison the birds for the rest of their lives in order to allow the chinless freaks who arguably caused this entire economic mess to run riot”, follow Alistair at eBothy Blog on the above pingback.