FAC and Boar Complications

roe steak

Well-Known Member
Hi all, here in Dumfries & Galloway the licensing bunch say boar are just vermin so no need to have a specific condition. In other regions some forces are being difficult about allowing stalkers to legally shoot them.

Can anyone explain why it is different in some areas and am I right in thinking that I could shoot a boar anywhere in the uk because my region says they're vermin but someone down south has to apply for a specific condition in some areas?

cheers
 
The Home Office guidance is that boar have to be specifically mentioned as a quarry for your rifle(s) not least because there are recommendations about minimum calibre and for example a .243 with "vermin" on it will not be suitable for boar.

If your local police regard boar as vermin and are happy for you to shoot under that condition then fine, my view is that this will not cut much ice if you then go to shoot boar in another constabulary as boar will not be mentioned on your FAC and they will take the view that you are in breach of your conditions if you use any rifle on boar not specifically cleared for boar.
 
I'm from d & g and when i went in to get a like for like for a bigger rifle for boar i took the acpo? guidlines with me that basc had sent up to me whch says in black and white not vermin and to be mentioned on ticket. He could see i was concerned and gave me a covering letter saying was able to shoot feral pigs/boar and they regaurded them as vermin. There a pretty good bunch in there and really easy to deal with in my experience at least.
Think they feel as so few of them and so little access to shoot them not a big problem as long as u use bit o common sense and a big enough rifle.
 
I got quite a short response that I thought made good sense, it went along the lines that 'well we class boar as vermin and if you chose to shoot them we'd have no problem PROVIDING you use your .308'

What suprised me was he quoted me my .308 in the conversation. He must have brought my details up on his computer to see my file and what guns I owned but more importantly the land authority letters to see where I shoot!!! :eek:
 
roe steak said:
I got quite a short response that I thought made good sense, it went along the lines that 'well we class boar as vermin and if you chose to shoot them we'd have no problem PROVIDING you use your .308'

What suprised me was he quoted me my .308 in the conversation. He must have brought my details up on his computer to see my file and what guns I owned but more importantly the land authority letters to see where I shoot!!! :eek:

Fair enough for D&G, and you are lucky to have such a reasonable FLO but this won't help you if you shoot boar anywhere else using that FAC.
 
Here in the Thames Valley, they have put WB on my ticket and even allowed me a 300WSM for them as well as my 308
 
FAC AND BOAR

Avon and somerset said it had to be worded wild boar on my licence and i also had to have a letter from the land owner who had the boar problem.
I just wonder if the flos in different areas are a bit out of there depth with wild boar what with them being a relatively new quarry species and are righting themselfs in an escape clause by putting boar down as vermin on the fac just incase a problem arises
In todays politically correct enviroment i really believe that if heaven forbid an accident/incident occured any lawyer worth his salt could get a conviction against you if your licence stated deer and vermin.
They would simply state that wild boar are a very large and sometimes dangerous quarry species hunted world wide and not a rat or rook
There for you should not have been out with a rifle after them in the first place unless they were actually worded on the fac.
I for one would also be very interested to see on how you would stand with the various insurance companies like the one included by basc etc if a problem ever arose.
These guys wrote the book on how to avoid payment on a claim if they can possibly find a loop hole to get out of it mmmmmm food for thought.
Unfortunately i dont think we will find out if vermin is satisfactory on a licence untill something bad happens.
It will certainlly restrict your movements from county to county and could put you in hot water if you were stopped in some areas.
Myself i prefer to cross the ts and dot the eyes and sleep easy knowing that i have got myself covered.
JUST MY VIEW
ATB
RICK O SHEA
 
The reason that there is confusion is that the Home Office couldn't organise a party in a brewery! I asked for Feral Goats to be put on my FAC and they put Wild Boar instead on all of my calibres from .222 rem to 7mm Rem Mag! Why the hell they don't just employ one knowledgable man for six months to re-write the Home Office Guidance then re-issue it to all Police forces and tell them to stick to it and not make it up as they go along is beyond me. JC
 
Hi guys,

if you specifically request boar on your FAC and show you access to them either on your land or as a paying guest with permission to shoot them, it should be granted without undue delay. The home office guidance is not law.

The police in any area may ask you for details but a quick covering letter from the holder of the shooting rights/land owner sorts it.

Home Office Guidance section 13.25 - Other Animals: Authority may be requested to shoot animals which fall outside the scope of usual types of game or vermin, for example feral goat or wild boar. The type of rifle authorised should be appropriate to the quarry species, for example .270, .30-06 or.308 or greater for wild boar. Hunting potentially dangerous animals with larger calibre rifles requires particular skill, and applicants should generally have experience of firearms. Applicants should put forward specific named land and a request or authority from the owner/occupier to shoot the species concerned[/b]

D&G openly class their boar as vermin
, this is simply because the home office guidance is only guidance and not law. Nothing in the HO guidance is a must so from a legal point of view you can't be convicted if you were a first time out with a mate shooter and shot a boar say with a 243 without boar on his ticket because a law has not been broken and boar have no legal status.

Things will change when boar are given legal status but obviously at the mo keep on the good site of your FLO and do what they ask to avoid hassle even if they're a pain.



;)
 
These are good points, my local FLO told me off the record that the CPS would not be interested if I broke a Chief Constable's condition like shooting a fox with a rifle that did not have foxes (or vermin) named and this would presumably apply to boar as well. What he wasn't quite so clear on was how my next application for a renewal would go if I did so.

He refused to give me a variation to use my .270 for boar despite me having a written invitation to shoot on ground cleared by the constabulary in which the ground lay. When I challenged him with the HO Guidelines he finally told me that the Chief Constable "does not want to be a ground breaker on this". He was so stupid that he thought all deer were culled in fenced off areas and he gave me the variation for increased ammo to allow for holding some heavier rounds despite refusing the variation which justified the request!
 
The problem is that no FLO wants to stick their neck out which you can understand when currently there is no specific body advising the government on what is 'the right set of rules'

If you get any hassle with boar related calibre rifle stuff always quote 'health and safety' and 'animal welfare'. Quite simply if a hunter shot a boar with a 243 (perfectly legal) but that boar was wounded and attacked a human the FLO would be accountable if they have previously refused a HO guidance 270 or bigger for example for the hunter. Same principal as health and safety (hearing damage) for moderator variations.

Pose the question to your FLO

'if you don't grant my variation for my 30 cal (or whatever) and a someone gets injured, does that not make you responible?'

:lol:
 
Paul your talking pish ,the Firearms Enquiry Officer is not accountable for anything, he only works to home office or force area guide lines, it is you the applicant that applies for what ever caliber you wish it will be granted if you can show sufficient evidence that that caliber is required for the job.

The Firearms Enquiry Officer is there to collate the evidence that you produce, to make sure that what you do give is a true statement ,
to check the security of weapons etc the Force Firearms Department, if and only if you meet all the requirements will grant or renew a certificate they have the final say not the FEO.

The FEO know little or nothing about shooting in general, and don't require to know anything about it ,they are only interested in the application ,and that you meet all the clauses and requirements of the certificate.

Get the facts right there are a lot of people use these web site that are looking for the right facts .
 
my new ticket came back the the other day with "any legal quarry"" for all calibres (.22rf, .223, .243 and .308) so assuming i had permission to be there, i could shoot boar with the .308 i believe?
 
Widows, thanks but I'm not talking pish and didn't mention FEO in terms of an admin body. I mentioned FLO as in Firearms Licensing Office/Officer which meant differently to your thoughts. As I said before to avoid hassle keep on the good side of your local Firearms team but the granting team (sorry I meant this as a collective) are obviously accountable if they mess up.

How could they not be?

And as far as D&G go they specifically class boar as vermin/other wildlife as regards to certificate conditions. Guidance is only 'guidance' and interpretation can be a grey area. Can we agree on that fact?
 
Like quite a few regions there's the odd one or two nowadays. Nothing compared to forest of dean anyway. Shhh
 
nell said:
Interesting read, are there many boar in D&G?????

There soon wont be, everyone with a centrefire rifle in the region is after a pop at the boar, all this talk of rapid population increases may be well & truely scuppered!
 
countryboy
I live across the solway from you and over here I have wild boar on my Fac for my .308 and my .444M and also for my 5 shot semi-Auto with out having to show that i have wild boar to shoot in the my area and that i am allowed to buy and shoot solid slug for the same reason.
I have never had any of the problems with my FLO and they have being very helpful when i have asked for something out of the ordinary.
If you are a BASC member get them to have a word with D&G police for
you and see if that makes them change there mind???
 
reiver

The firearms bunch at penrith seem to be pretty good. Anyone that mentions them seems to say they're very fast with admin and reasonable with variations. One for Ones back within a week type stuff.

I guess some are better than others :confused:

So do you have boar over there, I've never heard any news from cumbria about them being about?
 
Roe steak

yes Penrith Feo Are on the ball and they also know what the law is and they do not try
to make up there own laws!!!
As for boar there are none that i know of here in the north but there were some released Antis from a boar farm in south Cumbria a few years a go by some so who knows down there if they were all rounded up ? 8)
 
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