Arghh! dog walkers in cover crop

Essex stalker

Well-Known Member
One of the guys on our syndicate went out yesterday for a walk around to check everything was OK and came across someone walking through the cover crop with a spaniel and Labrador off the lead putting birds up everywhere. He had no control over the dogs and they were just running amok!
He shouted at the guy and a few choice words were exchanged, the guy with the dogs said he couldn't see what harm they were doing!.
Apart from verbally having a go at this guy what else can you legally do. There is no footpath in that area and he is on private land. So frustrating!
 
I approach this in two ways - usually works.
1. If the trespasser is reasonable person try to compromise, ask that he/she take a different route during the shooting season, it is only for 4 months.
2. Inform trespasser that the crops have been sprayed with a strong pesticide and it could cause his/her dogs to go blind or develop nose cancers, incurring expensive vet bills. Any verbal abuse, threats or damage to property (birds) on private land can be considered Aggravated Trespass and is a criminal offence.

Regards
Roy
 
I have now found out where the person lives so was thinking of going around their house and using option 1, however must admit hadn't thought of option 2, that seems a good idea, thanks
 
Like the second one best,:) I was told once by a 'legal council' that if someone walks the same route a number of times and is not challenged, they can continue to do so. I'm still unsure of the legality of that, and would appreciate an answer as to whether it is true or not. Another answer is to say I'll follow you home feller and allow my dogs to riot/crap everywhere in your garden, they'll be doing no harm either.:smug: deerwarden
 
deerwarden,
You are correct, but it has to proved that a particular route has been walked for a number of years, I think it might be twelve years, or even longer and it is quite a drawn out process.
 
I ask them if they are lost & inform them rifle shooting goes on and that they can not be where they are... last time I saw a dog walker with 2 labs walking in private woodland tracks he said he thought this is all public footpath... have a few signs up now with shooting in progress and private woodland....
 
Most of the time folk genuinely do not realise what they are doing. Recently a dog walker had strayed off the footpath through the farm because 'the stile is slippery', with a dog not on the lead but under reasonable control. Explained that there were a pair of young roe does that were abandoned for whatever reason (possibly a dog walker with a dog not under control!) that she had disturbed and that had run off to the other end of the next field. After explaining that they stay put with folk walking backwards and forwards on the footpath as they are used to it she volunteered that she might stick to the path in the future - job done. No confrontation - gentle explanation has to be the way to go initially.
 
Yes its a big problem with uncontrolled dogs.
Often its ignorance but sometimes it bloodymindness.

Im afraid game rearing and conservation activities
are not compatible with constant disturbance
by wild dogs.

Sat waiting for foxes the other week... didnt see any foxes,
just a crazy jack russell and two labradors questing for game.

NO OWNERS TO BE SEEN ANYWHERE.

Did evenually find the jack russell owner,
polite conversation but owner not bothered in least.
He thinks Im unreasonable.?

When you leave your dog behind, then see other uncontrolled
dogs ruining your shoot it is annoying.

Question is what happens when you are NOT there?

birds.JPG
quiet feed point

dogs.JPG

oh dear. dogs, no owner, 400 yards from nearest footpath.:evil:

Whats the point in investing £500 in a game crop to have trespasers
run their dogs through it every day.

You can only be polite and try to explain, it does work, sometimes./
 
Like the second one best,:) I was told once by a 'legal council' that if someone walks the same route a number of times and is not challenged, they can continue to do so. I'm still unsure of the legality of that, and would appreciate an answer as to whether it is true or not. Another answer is to say I'll follow you home feller and allow my dogs to riot/crap everywhere in your garden, they'll be doing no harm either.:smug: deerwarden

deerwarden,
You are correct, but it has to proved that a particular route has been walked for a number of years, I think it might be twelve years, or even longer and it is quite a drawn out process.
Pretty sure that only applies to established paths - as long as you fence it off or lock a gate once a year then it can be countered...
 
I know a farmer who leases out a lake to a fishing club, in the lease it states that they cant use the lake on 1 specific day per year. I believe this is to get around this issue of continued use
 
Pretty sure that only applies to established paths - as long as you fence it off or lock a gate once a year then it can be countered...


That's correct. I used to work in an office complex that had a short section (~100 yards) of privately owned street with pavements between two of its buildings, closed off at one end to vehicular traffic by locked gates. The general public could (and did) walk along this bit of street in quite large numbers using a pedestrian gate left open for 364 days p.a. Every year, the pedestrian gate was shut and locked for one weekday to keep the 'private status' intact. There was also a notice somewhere outlining the street's ownership and access status.
 
A lot of pet dog owners simply don't see their dogs as predators. Whilst walking mine, I came across a distraught woman who had let her usually placid and obedient dog have a run, to discover it had found a young roe lying in long grass (as they do) and killed it. She couldn't understand why the dog would do such a thing.
 
A few weeks ago while I was pigeon shooting I had a couple stop outside my hind they were watching my whirly spin around.
I could hear them talking, 1 of them was saying why aren't them pigeons flying off....
I lent forward over the top of the hind and said can I help you? Are you lost? Because you are about 400 yards off the foot path!!!
They replied back saying oh no we aren't lost we just walk this way sometimes!!!
I suggested that they stick to the foot paths has it could be dangerous if they aren't seen while walking around off of the foot paths.

Also last year I was out stalking in a wood on someone else's ground with them when we had about 15 fallow run about 10yards in front of us followed by a westy dog 40yards behind them the dog ran them for at least an hour we didn't see or hear anyone calling the dog plus there wasn't any foot paths nearby...

The guy that I was with wanted to go westy stalking!!!
 
I had a similar problem when I was keepering on a small syndicate shoot, with local residents walking their dogs all over the place. So I asked them to adjust their route around the boundaries & the were basically dogging them in each day & doing me a favour. Everyone was a winner & the locals commented on how nice I was :)
 
I had a similar problem when I was keepering on a small syndicate shoot, with local residents walking their dogs all over the place. So I asked them to adjust their route around the boundaries & the were basically dogging them in each day & doing me a favour. Everyone was a winner & the locals commented on how nice I was :)

It's great when a plan comes together and as you say in your case it was a win win situation all round. However I suspect that some dog owners would not be so understanding or helpful, in fact I would go as far as to suggest that some "pooch" owners think that they have a god given right to let their unruly mutt run riot wherever it wants!!

Edit: I should add that I am a dog lover myself and have no problem with dogs that are kept under proper control, especially near livestock - More often than not it is the owner and the way that they have trained (Failed to train) their dog that is at fault.
 
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Yes its a big problem with uncontrolled dogs.
Often its ignorance but sometimes it bloodymindness.

Im afraid game rearing and conservation activities
are not compatible with constant disturbance
by wild dogs.

Sat waiting for foxes the other week... didnt see any foxes,
just a crazy jack russell and two labradors questing for game.

NO OWNERS TO BE SEEN ANYWHERE.

Did evenually find the jack russell owner,
polite conversation but owner not bothered in least.
He thinks Im unreasonable.?

When you leave your dog behind, then see other uncontrolled
dogs ruining your shoot it is annoying.


oh dear. dogs, no owner, 400 yards from nearest footpath.:evil:

Whats the point in investing £500 in a game crop to have trespasers
run their dogs through it every day.

You can only be polite and try to explain, it does work, sometimes./

Next time take the dog (obviously it is lost as no owner in sight) if you can get hold of it and call the local dog warden/council. Round here it costs the owner £60 per dog to be released back to them and £20 a day for housing and feed for every day they are unclaimed. I'm sure after a few hundred quid they'll keep Fido on a lead.
 
Next time take the dog (obviously it is lost as no owner in sight) if you can get hold of it and call the local dog warden/council. Round here it costs the owner £60 per dog to be released back to them and £20 a day for housing and feed for every day they are unclaimed. I'm sure after a few hundred quid they'll keep Fido on a lead.

Not a bad idea for a repeat offender. We had a load of beagles rioting through coverts on a shoot day once. Completely ruined the day which was abandoned. The (very fiery) keeper nabbed about four of them and took them back to the stables, told the local pack staff to come and get them and expect to deal with him when they got there, or they were going to the dog wardens. They sent a teenage girl, presumably on the grounds that she was not a candidate for a smack in the chops.
 
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