why was the ban lifted?

[bauldy bob]

Is it just me ,or does everyone else think lifting the wildfowling ban was a bit premature!
Everything is still frozen solid,the ground seems to have permafrost!!
Anywhere there is food,the ducks and geese are easy targets they are so hungry!!!
Seen a few woodcock at the phessants today but didn't lift gun to them,there is nothing worth eating on them so does that not go against the morals of shooting!!
Bob

 

[6pointer]

I saw a few pinks to day at the edge of a road were they were picking grass from an area of melt due to bust drain quite sad really and the ban in my opinion should have remained for a while longer but hey who are we just cogs in wheels of life.

 

[JRoe]

I was very surprised that the ban was lifted too. Wouldn't it be good if the majority of Wilfowlers etc looked to their conscience and had their own voluntary ban ?

 

[limulus]

Fully defrosted here and thousands of pinkies about.( I think the count is approx 44k at the moment)
I cleaned three this morning and they were in good condition.
There was one woodcock shot on monday this week in a 540 bag and that was also in good condition. The keeper also picked a woodcock up on one of the drives that had obviously starved to death, so I'm not sure what to make of that.

 

[the laird]

Is it just me ,or does everyone else think lifting the wildfowling ban was a bit premature!
Everything is still frozen solid,the ground seems to have permafrost!!
Anywhere there is food,the ducks and geese are easy targets they are so hungry!!!
Seen a few woodcock at the phessants today but didn't lift gun to them,there is nothing worth eating on them so does that not go against the morals of shooting!!
Bob

hi bob. i live in sw scotland and we've had a continuos thaw from christmas day till yesterday, and i shot two pinks this morning both in good nick so i don't agree with your views .also if everything in your area is frozen solid where do your pheasants get a drink from also on the subject of morals you won't be shooting any deer either as they won't be able to feed in your area with everything frozen solid maybe it's time to consider regional bans

 

[sir-lamp-alot]

what gets me with wildfowling bans is that they are put in place when wildfowl is finding it hard to find food and is danger of starving to death due to ther being to many birds for the amount of food avalible, now dont get me wrong but if ther wasnt enough food avalible for the amount of deer a stalker had on his or her patch then they would be out shooting to help preserve what they left so why do we have a wildfowling ban? and just incase your wondering yes i am a wildfowler and a stalker but i have never quite got this one round my head

 

[JC275]

what gets me with wildfowling bans is that they are put in place when wildfowl is finding it hard to find food and is danger of starving to death due to ther being to many birds for the amount of food avalible, now dont get me wrong but if ther wasnt enough food avalible for the amount of deer a stalker had on his or her patch then they would be out shooting to help preserve what they left so why do we have a wildfowling ban? and just incase your wondering yes i am a wildfowler and a stalker but i have never quite got this one round my head

I think its about disturbance, you can go out as a stalker and shoot one or two deer without disturbing too many others (and therefore forcing them to use energy that they would rather conserve). Wildfowlers on the marsh can disturb 10,000 geese with a single shot or even just by venturing out. JC

 

[sir-lamp-alot]

I think its about disturbance, you can go out as a stalker and shoot one or two deer without disturbing too many others (and therefore forcing them to use energy that they would rather conserve). Wildfowlers on the marsh can disturb 10,000 geese with a single shot or even just by venturing out. JC

quite possibly the answer but it still seems a little backwrds to me tho

 

[HoyBoy]

Up here in orkney it should be legal to shoot geese all year round, there are just so many of them and the numbers keep rising year on year. There never used to be very many here but in the last decade the numbers have increased dramaticly and a lot of them don't migrate they stay to nest in the summer. I dont know what the count is this year but i wouldn't be surprised if its somewhere between 60,000 and 100,000. I would like to see a government funded cull but thats unlikely these days with all the eco do-gooders around. All u guys wanting to do some wildfouling should get up here a look.. and bring a machine gun!

 

[bambislayer]

Up here in orkney it should be legal to shoot geese all year round, there are just so many of them and the numbers keep rising year on year. There never used to be very many here but in the last decade the numbers have increased dramaticly and a lot of them don't migrate they stay to nest in the summer. I dont know what the count is this year but i wouldn't be surprised if its somewhere between 60,000 and 100,000. I would like to see a government funded cull but thats unlikely these days with all the eco do-gooders around. All u guys wanting to do some wildfouling should get up here a look.. and bring a machine gun!

I was up in October, my Sister in-law lives in St Margarets hope, couldn't believe the amount of wildfowl about, I'd certainly be up for arranging some outings next year if you have any contacts

On our syndicate we decided last week that we would lay off wildfowl as it's still hard frost here. also it's far too risky to put a dog in the Spey right now, although I heard that someone shooting geese on Sunday lost a dog in the river around Grantown, not good

 

[wildfowler.250]

Up here in orkney it should be legal to shoot geese all year round, there are just so many of them and the numbers keep rising year on year. There never used to be very many here but in the last decade the numbers have increased dramaticly and a lot of them don't migrate they stay to nest in the summer. I dont know what the count is this year but i wouldn't be surprised if its somewhere between 60,000 and 100,000. I would like to see a government funded cull but thats unlikely these days with all the eco do-gooders around. All u guys wanting to do some wildfouling should get up here a look.. and bring a machine gun!

How easy is it to go wildfowling up in Orkney? I quite fancy a trip up for a few days just to get somewhere different to shoot

I just saw this thread but I think the ban was right to be lifted. The wildfowl down on the shore were fine for eating,(they were lacking fat reserves but who eats the fat? ).

A regional ban may be a better idea but if the ban was lifted and I shot one bird that was too thin, I would go home.

ATB

 

[HoyBoy]

Hey, yea anyone wanting to do some wildfouling up here would be more than welcome. There are loads of geese around and a lot of ducks too. 99% of landowners would be happy to let people shoot i would think. There is a lot of good shooting to be had on common ground too, some marshy areas and all round the foreshore. The only problem is there aint a lot of cover, the islands are all pretty flat and no trees just open fields so not a lot to hide behind, i usually end up lying in a ditch or hole at the edge of a field. The geese are pretty thin just now but i wouldn't be put off by that, u dont have to eat them, just shoot them for the fun of it . The ducks are in good condition, had a couple of drakes the other day and they were fairly fat. I only shoot a few of them now and then for the pot, they aint a pest like the geese.