Lamping vermin

newby.204

Is lamping foxes/rabbits illegal?? I only have two friends(close ones) that are gun owners. One of them always makes a big deal about when we go lamping, you would swear we were MI6 on a mission or something.

So back to my question is it illegal or is my friend sh!t!ng through his ars3???

If it isnt im gona laugh the next time he "hears" something and we "have to" leave, Generally happens when he misses ALOT..........

Rovi

newby.204 wrote:

Is lamping foxes/rabbits illegal??

As far as I know (and I'm very much open to correction on this), it's legal.

Assuming, of course, you have permission to be where you are, and aren't breaking any other laws (reckless endangerment, disturbing the peace, vandalism, etc) of course.

In the eyes of many people (including some shooters and hunters), lamping is very closely related to poaching, and suffers much bad P.R. as a consequence.

Provided everything is legit and above board, you should be fine.
'Searchlights' flashing around the fields and the sound of high-powered rifle fire in the middle of the night WILL attract the attention of the bunny-huggers and their cohorts, so be sure all your 'I's are dotted and your 'T's crossed before you venture out.

newby.204

Thanks Rovi

anyone else know anymore?????

Em with regards to noise ive a shotgun at the moment so it is very noisy.

However when i get my rifle(and godwilling) my moderator licence i can cull all the bunnies i want, and the bunny huggers can sleep sound.

As they wont know im doing it ha ha ha

johngalway

Lamping foxes is legal AFAIK, I don't go near rabbits as we don't have many here thanks to mixy so I won't comment. Local cop didn't drop dead with horror when I applied for my shotgun licence as I told him exactly what I wanted it for, lamping foxes. As Rovi says, make very sure you have permission to be shooting on the land you're on, bring a written confirmation of this signed by the landowner and your shotgun/rifle licence with you. Try to keep lamps from flashing onto houses or at roads if you can, basically the more you can do not to draw attention to yourself will result in less/no complaints As long as you stay safe and within the law re firearms/wildlife etc and you're in well with the landowner there isn't a whole lot anyone can say to you about it.

John

Clare gunner

Yes ,totally legal method of culling vermin[foxes&rabbitts].
Just proably more dangerous,because you are shooting at night,so make sure you know whats the light beam range.And as pointed out more associated with poaching[altho you would be a rather inept poacher nowadays to be using a visible light,what with nite vision scopes etc].
Be careful and dont give the nature nazis[aka antis] any more ammo to use against us.

newby.204

Seems like common sense thanks lads, ill bear that in mind.....

Cant wait to tell my friend hes running for no reason and watch his face when he realises i know hes full o sh!t about it!!! lol:D

Trojan911

newby.204 wrote:

Seems like common sense thanks lads, ill bear that in mind.....

Cant wait to tell my friend hes running for no reason and watch his face when he realises i know hes full o sh!t about it!!! lol:D

Newby,

Just also make sure you are not lamping any protected species, that is illegal.

Not sure either if you can shoot from the roadside. If anyone can shed light on that one I would be grateful, I thought there was a law stating you cannot shoot 50yards from the centre of the road but this UK law only.

Cheers...

TJ911...

Double Barrel

While I cannot quote you chapter and verse the following is clear enough:

"It must be clearly understood that while lamping from a public road is not illegal, the discharging of a firearm from a public place, day or night, is. We would like to suggest a proper code of practice here regarding the method of lamping and to avoid unnecessary disturbance to the people of the area."

"Always view the fox in the top of the beam of light. This will avoid the beam shining through windows of people's homes. Control should be carried out in the vicinity of release pens or at the request of farmers."

http://www.nargc.ie/organisation/predator.htm

newby.204

That clears things up alot for me lads, again very helpful.
thanks alot

Terrier

Lamping Code of Practice from the BASC in England. Good advice.

TomBeckett

johngalway wrote:

Lamping foxes is legal AFAIK, I don't go near rabbits as we don't have many here thanks to mixy so I won't comment. Local cop didn't drop dead with horror when I applied for my shotgun licence as I told him exactly what I wanted it for, lamping foxes. As Rovi says, make very sure you have permission to be shooting on the land you're on, bring a written confirmation of this signed by the landowner and your shotgun/rifle licence with you. Try to keep lamps from flashing onto houses or at roads if you can, basically the more you can do not to draw attention to yourself will result in less/no complaints As long as you stay safe and within the law re firearms/wildlife etc and you're in well with the landowner there isn't a whole lot anyone can say to you about it.

John

Yes Spot on This is excellent advice!!
Can i add one thing be carefull and watch out for Horses possibly have a drive around before hand in day light an see if theres any around!!
They dont like a light been shon on then and tend to go insane and can run aganst a ditch and damage themselves..

spideog7

Can i add one thing be carefull and watch out for Horses possibly have a drive around before hand in day light an see if theres any around!!
They dont like a light been shon on then and tend to go insane and can run aganst a ditch and damage themselves..

Similarly some advice based on personal experience :rolleyes: ..if you are shooting around cattle (or for that matter even walkin near them in the dark) sometimes they get spooked and run..... don't shine the light at them to try and scare them off, or what not, it just blinds them and they can't see sh8te..... can run straight into you then..the best thing is to shine the light on the ground in front of you, to try and light yourself up and let them calm down

Terrier

TomBeckett wrote:

Can i add one thing be carefull and watch out for Horses possibly have a drive around before hand in day light an see if theres any around!!
They dont like a light been shon on then and tend to go insane and can run aganst a ditch and damage themselves..

This happened last year in Galway and made the front page of the Connaught Tribune who put a picture of the farmer standing over his dead horse who had to be put down due to his injuries!!

Rovi

spideog7 wrote:

Similarly some advice based on personal experience :rolleyes: ..if you are shooting around cattle (or for that matter even walkin near them in the dark) sometimes they get spooked and run..... don't shine the light at them to try and scare them off, or what not, it just blinds them and they can't see sh8te..... can run straight into you then..the best thing is to shine the light on the ground in front of you, to try and light yourself up and let them calm down

As a former cow farmer I'll concur with this.

Cattle do however, get used to being 'lamped'.

At calving time, we'd be out at least twice a night during the hours of darkness; usually at Midnight and 'around' 3am (:rolleyes:), unless there was activity on the calving front, when all bets were off and you could be out all night.
The cows in the 'maternity paddock' very quickly learned to ignore the powerful lamp being shone on them, and new introductions to the paddock weren't particularly bothered either, as the rest of the group wasn't getting spooky.
Cattle unused to having the lamp shone on them however, were a different story. Minor stampedes and blinded cattle blundering around in the dark are no joke.

As spideog7 says, illuminate yourself and a patch of ground in front of you as you move through cattle in the dark. They can then see you and are much more comfortable with the whole situation.

Be aware too, that all the usual warnings about cattle still apply at night: cows with calves, bulls, 'spooky' bullocks/heifers, etc, can and do kill experienced cattlemen every year. If you can at all, it'd be best to avoid livestock altogether.

Trojan911

Double Barrel wrote:

"It must be clearly understood that while lamping from a public road is not illegal, the discharging of a firearm from a public place, day or night, is. We would like to suggest a proper code of practice here regarding the method of lamping and to avoid unnecessary disturbance to the people of the area."

DB,

Thanks for the info, I am up to date on shooting ettiquette with cattle & horses etc and appreciate the links provided. They are always good to read as fresh info may be available. I do not shoot from the roadside however sometimes it is more easier to do so. All land I shoot I know it well and have permission.

Cheers


TJ911...