Fox season

elius

Just wondering when you good folk plan to stop shooting them...
Cheers

noodle650

there is no season for fox....they will be culled whenever and wherever is necessary to protect livestock and to protect pheasant,partridge,Hare,woodcock and snipe population.

elius

noodle650 wrote: »

there is no season for fox....they will be culled whenever and wherever is necessary to protect livestock and to protect pheasant,partridge,Hare,woodcock and snipe population.

I no but i here tell of people stoping paddys day to let them raise there young etc..

jap gt

for the locals here they usually stop around april and start up again a few weeks before the plan on releasing, but a lot of people shoot all year round

elius

jap gt wrote: »

for the locals here they usually stop around april and start up again a few weeks before the plan on releasing, but a lot of people shoot all year round

Not really looking to shoot during mating season and whilst there raising there young. Anyone tell me when they start nozzling??? :D

jwshooter

paddys day.

no one likes to leave starving dependents in the borrow or nest also dont shoot pigeon or rabbits .

elius

Think it will be targets and clays for the forseable future...........

kay 9

I generally shoot them all year round, but not on a big as scale as I do before the ewes begin to drop. In a months time I'll only be lampin a night or 2 a week. At the moment tho I'm after the sheep and tend to take the gear along as i go so I'm shootin most nights.

welsummer

in or around paddys day is when they generally have their pups. shot a vixen 3 days ago that was still in pup.

daveob007

I don't shoot foxes myself because i don't need to as i am not a farmer or gamekeeper but many do need to shoot for livestock protection etc.
I mainly just shoot small vermin like crows/magpies/rats and sometimes the odd rabbit.
I do make a point of stopping at this time of year as breeding starts,but rats and grey crows/magpies are the exception because they do major damage to the small bird population.
other guys i know are very careful about shooting female rabbits/foxes etc at this time of year and just shoot the males if neccessary only.
its about controlling species rather than trying to wipe them out; but rats should be shot whenever possible because of the risk they pose to us all.
grey squirrels also need to be shot on sight because the are a big threat to our native red squirrel.

EPointer=Birdss

daveob007 wrote: »

I don't shoot foxes myself because i don't need to as i am not a farmer or gamekeeper but many do need to shoot for livestock protection etc.
I mainly just shoot small vermin like crows/magpies/rats and sometimes the odd rabbit.
I do make a point of stopping at this time of year as breeding starts,but rats and grey crows/magpies are the exception because they do major damage to the small bird population.
other guys i know are very careful about shooting female rabbits/foxes etc at this time of year and just shoot the males if neccessary only.
its about controlling species rather than trying to wipe them out; but rats should be shot whenever possible because of the risk they pose to us all.
grey squirrels also need to be shot on sight because the are a big threat to our native red squirrel.

No offense mate but thats a very Great White Hunter attitude.
In our not so distant history we've wiped out numerous species all over the world because they were a threat. Very noble of us indeed!
I agree rats are filthy little yokes & should be reduced as much as possible but you will never wipe em out & they also have there place in the eco system as do foxes.
It's about reducing numbers because we will never ever irradicate foxes much the same as rats as they are too adaptible. If it didn't happen years ago when poisoning was legal & there was money for the pelts it aint gonna happen in this merry green environment of today!!

If you are into shooting game as a hobby then you do need to be reducing fox numbers. Otherwise you are potentially in the gun club pot of "where are all the birds this year" when only few lads were doing the fox control.

It's not just farmers that are affected my friend... :rolleyes:

thelurcher

elius - Paddy's Day is generally the time to stop - some farmers carry on for longer and to be honest you can't blame them for that - but the foxhounds and harriers will have stopped barring the odd call-out - the same goes for anyone into lurchers or terrier work

The gun club lads are another story.........that same vixen with week or two old cubs at the moment was around all winter so why didn't they pull on the wellies and shoot her then - too cold for ye - if we all don't show a bit of common sense when it comes to hunting seasons then we'll have them imposed upon us.

Just in case ye think my stance on this is without any kind of justification then here's an extract from a recent HAI mail I got -

There is an Animal Welfare Bill and this is at Draft stage still but,
from what we have seen, could also have a serious effect on all types of
Field Sports. For instance, it introduces for the first time the concept of
"mental cruelty" in relation to animals. It does not contain a definition
for "Vermin ". It specifically prohibits the killing of an animal in a
manner that causes unnecessary, avoidable or excessive pain or suffering

You can see how the Greens will have plenty of room to maneuver if they leave things as vague as they are - why keep giving them ammo to destroy us all with........

daveob007

EPointer=Birdss wrote: »

No offense mate but thats a very Great White Hunter attitude.
In our not so distant history we've wiped out numerous species all over the world because they were a threat. Very noble of us indeed!
I agree rats are filthy little yokes & should be reduced as much as possible but you will never wipe em out & they also have there place in the eco system as do foxes.
It's about reducing numbers because we will never ever irradicate foxes much the same as rats as they are too adaptible. If it didn't happen years ago when poisoning was legal & there was money for the pelts it aint gonna happen in this merry green environment of today!!

If you are into shooting game as a hobby then you do need to be reducing fox numbers. Otherwise you are potentially in the gun club pot of "where are all the birds this year" when only few lads were doing the fox control.

It's not just farmers that are affected my friend... :rolleyes:

sorry don't know what you are getting at with the great white hunter thing???? i'm not on about wiping out anything just controlling numbers in areas where the species are a problem, and as i mentioned farmers and gamekeepers who control vermin for their clubs so i know its not just farmers who have problems with foxes.
I dont shoot foxes because i don't have the right gun to do it humanly.

EPointer=Birdss

daveob007 wrote: »

sorry don't know what you are getting at with the great white hunter thing???? i'm not on about wiping out anything just controlling numbers in areas where the species are a problem, and as i mentioned farmers and gamekeepers who control vermin for their clubs so i know its not just farmers who have problems with foxes.
I dont shoot foxes because i don't have the right gun to do it humanly.

Didn't mean offense there.
What i'm sayin is just cause there isn't obivious problems doesn't mean reducing numbers wont help.

Not many clubs have full time keepers & all must chip in & do their bit.

daveob007

EPointer=Birdss wrote: »

Didn't mean offense there.
What i'm sayin is just cause there isn't obivious problems doesn't mean reducing numbers wont help.

Not many clubs have full time keepers & all must chip in & do their bit.

no offence taken.
now i see what you mean, general control of numbers even when not posing threat helps. I agree.

welsummer

controlling foxes is really a year round job, except from now on the days are getting longer and there is not much point in lamping till about an hour after dark, which leaves it a very late night in the middle of the summer... Hitting foxes hard at this thime of the year is best as most would have set up their territories, and are not running the country side like the young foxes from summer onwards. you are nevey going to get rid of all the foxes in you area as all you are doing is creating a vacum that will soon be filled from foxes outside you area that is not properly managed.