I have permission on about 1300-1400 acres in Wiltshire and Somerset and the day I have to start paying to shoot pests or deer I will jack it in.I pay for a trip to shoot geese in Scotland once a year and I pay for a pheasant syndicate.I am 58 and have never paid before too old to start now
Paying farmers
- Thread starter Blacklab
- Start date
The tramp
Well-Known Member
nun_hunter
Well-Known Member
I don't pay for any of my stalking but also none of it is fantastic either. For every few landowners who want money there will also be one or two who are more concerned with helping friends or having someone who they trust 100%.
AN DU RU FOX
Well-Known Member
i have one farmer who i cant get my head around me and mate shoot it for pigeons mostly odd fox and lost pheasant free for four years then he started mentioning other lads had been and offered him money so we would have to pay a tenner apeice ok for twelve months then he says its thirty each so i said no way and stopped going twelve months later his rapes up and hes pestering me now to come back on for free again,
Roelander
Well-Known Member
I totally agree with everyones feelings on this one but the trouble is, Stalking is becoming a victim of its own success. More and more people are coming into Stalking now thanks to access courses such as the DSC1. On the one hand this is great for the sport and for safety, but on the other hand there are a lot of first time stalkers and shooters out there with nowhere to shoot. A lot of people out there have plenty of money to spend. One Stalker I know who stalks in Shropshire was recently told by the farmer that they had just been offered £35k by someone. Money talks, or at least it does until the farmer realises the new tenant is only interested in the odd trophy beast and his crops are knackered.
Where will it all end.....?
Where will it all end.....?
You are very lucky not to pay for stalking but it will change and you will have to give up, trust me.
But you pay to shoot those winged vermin in Scotland when they should be paying you to shoot them. There are hundreds and thousands of them and they taste like tihs
You see what I mean ?
I payed to shoot geese and it was very expensive and not that good.
nun_hunter
Well-Known Member
Farmers and land owners won't be happy until the price paid for stalking outweighs the crop damage or the hassle of a stalker who now demands things as he is lying handsomely for it. I shoot one farm that is owned by a friend, he wouldn't let anyone else shoot there but if he was offered a few thousand pounds then I'm sure that he would change his mind, he'd be stupid not to as long as he knew what he was getting from the deal apart from just cash. I wouldn't hold a grudge as I know money talks.
Erik Hamburger
Well-Known Member
I don't think you should pay a farmer for offering him a service, providing you yourself will operate 100% non-commercial.
It does mean you have to manage the deer to the farmer's requirements, so culling is culling, which means being active in Winter and focusing on does. So no 'quality management' for 'good heads' - which is something most farmers who experience crop damage do not understand and do not want to hear about.
If you promise you'll never sell any of the venison; and will never take paying clients on that land; and share venison 50/50 with the farmer, you may find your farmer finds this an acceptable proposal.
Maybe worth a try?
nun_hunter
Well-Known Member
I certainly agree with this
That would work for me, especially if you have a skill in something helpful to me.
Just dont rock up with a "friend" driving a £30000 vehicle carrying £5000 of weaponry, wearing a £1000 shooting outfit
and tell me you are doing me a favour allowing you to shoot my deer
Rake Aboot
Well-Known Member
What has anyones wealth got to do with their ability to carry out free pest control for you ?
Why ? do you have a problem with other people earning good money ?
We make tarpaulins and covers, lifting slings and ratchet straps. Funnily enough we get on with quite a few farmers
It's that old saying, what goes around comes around.
I let hunters on my place to shoot pigs & goats (so long as they don't "bomb up" the goats) for free. It's a hassle at times, but I don't get pleasure shooting pigs so if others do, then why not let them have fun. However if a hunter suggests it is he doing me the favour by killing my pesty pigs, then the welcome is revoked.
I had this exact conversation with a neighbour just on Saturday. He was on his way out to poison an estimated 60 plus pigs with 1080, when I caught up with him, they had been free feeding them for a week & the pigs had lost caution. He did have a bloke who shot there, but this guy suggested that Ole Mate supply him with ammo & fuel out of the farm tank. "Good bye mate! 1080 is cheaper & less hassle than you."
When did deer become pests in the UK?
Sharkey
I had this exact conversation with a neighbour just on Saturday. He was on his way out to poison an estimated 60 plus pigs with 1080, when I caught up with him, they had been free feeding them for a week & the pigs had lost caution. He did have a bloke who shot there, but this guy suggested that Ole Mate supply him with ammo & fuel out of the farm tank. "Good bye mate! 1080 is cheaper & less hassle than you."
When did deer become pests in the UK?
Sharkey
countrryboy
Well-Known Member
Proably since agricultural marigns became tighter, in the past certain losses may be tolerated but when things are tight u can no longer tolerate the same losses.
Is it any difference to ur neighbour and his pigs? If u have a crop that pays ur wage then if any animal starts turning it from be profitable or vaible then it will be a pest and treated so.
I know of 2 big local estates that until 15 years ago u were not alowed (meant) to control foxes on and both had big shoots with 2-3 FT keepers, when an animal is pest/vermin on 1 side of the fence but sport on the other, is just a opinion/viewpoint
In the vast % of uk farms deer aren't seen as a big problem, infact most farmers like to see them (mainy roe, althou a lot of farmers hate the fallow locally but numbers are very very high) roe do very little real damage to farm crops, even to timber crops after first 5 or so vurnable years.
Like everything else it all depends on ur view point and wot ur crop/job is 1 mans sport will always be another mans vermin
Shooting/stalking/keepering is a funny old thing that many folk are happy to do for free if not pay for the privaledge yet there's also folk who will go on and actually charge for doing wot many would do for free.
Maybe I should rephrase that.
When did deer become "pests" to deer stalkers/hunters in the UK? I understand that farmers have different objectives to hunters, but why would hunters want to devalue the perceived value of deer. Has market hunting had an impact on perception?
Sharkey
nun_hunter
Well-Known Member
i took the "friend" (in inverted commas) to indicate a paying guest dressed up,as a friend.
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