Woodpigeon: pest or a quarry species?

[Heym SR20]

Pigeons. A fantastic sporting quarry. Roost shooting in a wind is really good fun and testing on your shooting skills.

But I have real problem with pigeons- I can’t stand their smell, all the feathers and for me, they taste horrible, so I don’t often shoot them.

Ducks - no issues with whatsoever, phaesants are not too bad, but I just do not like handling pigeons alive or dead. Not very good with chickens either.

 

[JTO]

Can only sum up people who leave young pigeon to die in the Nest of hunger and thirst when both adults been shot utter morons

I suggest you stick to shooting squirrels and rats with your air rifle.

 

[User00053]

Game bird or pest, boy or girl, lead or copper all very worrying methinks

 

[25 Sharps]

Because that’s exactly how your general license seems to operate.
No close seasons for pest species, in the case of wood pigeons they are shot all year round whether or not they’re actually doing any damage, same thing with magpies and crows.
Your shooting publications are full of articles and photos of birds legally taken during the breeding season that couldn’t even remotely be described as causing damage at the time of their demise.
Pest control is essential, but surely the whole point of it is to prevent damage, or to keep it within acceptable limits, not
just shoot at every specimen of the target species as opportunity or whim dictates regardless of season or location?

You’re wrong, see Enfieldspares post above for an example. You really should either read and understand the licences or not pass comment on how they ‘appear’ to operate.

But, either way, ultimately if a specimen is removed you remove its opportunity to cause damage plus that of its potential offspring.

None of the species on the general licences are anywhere near being at risk so I see no issue removing them when an opportunity arises. I just don’t, because I can’t do it legally. For nest robbing species killing them during the breeding season is the best way to achieve the protection you are setting out to achieve, as they are robbing nests to feed their own offspring.


The fact we can’t shoot when we like is the whole point of this thread, everyone is focusing on a close season but given an open season there would be no need to satisfy the general licences so you could just shoot at will.

 

[25 Sharps]

Clues in the name mate. STALKING DIRECTORY.

Why are you shouting, are you an angry little man?

If this forum is purely for Deer Stalking then what an earth are all the marginally or non related sub forums doing here? Why aren’t you on the reloading section, Vets Corner section, the off topic section or big game section shouting at people to only talk about stalking?

 

[Conor O'Gorman]

@Conor O'Gorman may be ask on a farming forum also

edit to add

most of the farmer i do crop protection for hate woodpigeons if they see say five on the field they phone you and say they have a problem, so I think they will have a very strong opinions about this.
Then are not crops planted at different times geographically across the U.K. due to different climate and even within one part of the country the weather impacts almost annually on when they can plant.
So we could have a closed season at the very time pigeons are doing the most damage.

Thanks, if woodpigeon were on the quarry list they would have an open and close season for shooting. The general licences permit all year round control methods including shooting but there are terms and conditions around that - they are constantly being tinkered with and leave many grey areas - hence the question posed in the OP from the article in Shooting Times. As an example, the Canada goose is on the quarry list with open and close season for shooting and is also on general licences in England, Wales and Scotland for all year round control methods including shooting.

 

[Conor O'Gorman]

From how I see things Conor, if you are selling or promoting something then you should know the subject inside out.
You can't make a good referee unless you understand ALL the rules....
Do you know where the use of a scarecrow came from in the use of a non lethal deterrent for pigeons?
It is part of the GL.
Tim

Sorry, I don't understand the point you are making. The OP is based on an article in Shooting Times - which explains the context. Here it is again:

Woodpigeons: pest or a quarry species? - ShootingUK

ShootingUK News - Woodpigeons: pest or a quarry species?

www.shootinguk.co.uk

The article preceding that article is here:

Are we shooting wild birds sustainably? - ShootingUK

ShootingUK - Are we shooting wild birds sustainably?

www.shootinguk.co.uk

 

[Tim.243]

Sorry, I don't understand the point you are making. The OP is based on an article in Shooting Times - which explains the context. Here it is again:

Woodpigeons: pest or a quarry species? - ShootingUK

ShootingUK News - Woodpigeons: pest or a quarry species?

www.shootinguk.co.uk

The article preceding that article is here:

Are we shooting wild birds sustainably? - ShootingUK

ShootingUK - Are we shooting wild birds sustainably?

www.shootinguk.co.uk

Yes, I read it but do you understand it as you made the post. That is all, I am a BSAC member also things are fragile enough as it is with the stunts NE pulled a while ago causing utter chaos with out pouring more petrol on the fire.
As my dear old Dad said things were good in the early years now with so many people involved pulling our chains no wonder people get a bit tetchy.
Regards
Tim

 

[Conor O'Gorman]

Yes, I read it but do you understand it as you made the post. That is all, I am a BSAC member also things are fragile enough as it is with the stunts NE pulled a while ago causing utter chaos with out pouring more petrol on the fire.
As my dear old Dad said things were good in the early years now with so many people involved pulling our chains no wonder people get a bit tetchy.
Regards
Tim

Who wrote the article?

 

[Liveonce]

Thanks, if woodpigeon were on the quarry list they would have an open and close season for shooting. The general licences permit all year round control methods including shooting but there are terms and conditions around that - they are constantly being tinkered with and leave many grey areas - hence the question posed in the OP from the article in Shooting Times. As an example, the Canada goose is on the quarry list with open and close season for shooting and is also on general licences in England, Wales and Scotland for all year round control methods including shooting.

But how do you know the closed season would not be when they were doing damage?

Grey is good

 

[Conor O'Gorman]

But how do you know the closed season would not be when they were doing damage?

Grey is good

During the close season you would be shooting under the relevant general licences as you do currently.

 

[User00053]

But how do you know the closed season would not be when they were doing damage?

Grey is good

Yes, all forty shades

 

[Liveonce]

During the close season you would be shooting under the relevant general licences as you do currently.

In that case, the idea potentially has merit. As it would limit the grey time to just the closed season.

 

[HonestJohn]

I personally believe we should adopt similar seasons to Denmark on a few species, definitely pigeon, we’ll thought out and sensible IMHO

 

[Nickb]

I personally believe we should adopt similar seasons to Denmark on a few species, definitely pigeon, we’ll thought out and sensible IMHO

Crazy ...fox Sept to January...bonkers

 

[StephenToast]

I personally believe we should adopt similar seasons to Denmark on a few species, definitely pigeon, we’ll thought out and sensible IMHO

Ridiculous.

 

[HonestJohn]

Ridiculous.

Really?

 

[Apthorpe]

I personally believe we should adopt similar seasons to Denmark on a few species, definitely pigeon, we’ll thought out and sensible IMHO

That's completely ridiculous. Pigeons in the UK need a lot more shooting effort because you don't have the harsh winters, severe frosts and lack of feed which you do on the Continent, but you have a much higher density of population. Different circumstances require different measures. Equally, there are probably places where the pigeon population doesn't support any shooting at all.

Their seasons for deer are also not sensible for the UK. Denmark is a completely different environment.

 

[jall55]

I personally believe we should adopt similar seasons to Denmark on a few species, definitely pigeon, we’ll thought out and sensible IMHO

What a load of rubbish !

 

[jall55]

I personally believe we should adopt similar seasons to Denmark on a few species, definitely pigeon, we’ll thought out and sensible IMHO

Either put up for a wind up - or has never been out of the house