deer whistles

sikahuntejack

Are the legal to use the one that you blow yourself

PL05

as far as i know its not illegal to have one but illegal to use one for hunting deer. now i could be wrong, but any means used to attract deer ie, feeding, calls etc are not allowed.

alsace royal

the wild deer association of ireland was selling them at the birr game fare last weekend, they were 'nordik sika' so id think if they were selling them they are legal and above board.
im just assuming tho so im open to correction.

Vegeta

My interpretation is that they are illegal: Section 35 (d) of the Wildlife Act 1976, as ammended in 2000

(d) use an electrical or other instrument or appliance (including recording apparatus) emitting sound, for the purpose of hunting any wild bird or any wild animal.

A whistle is a wind instrument so therefore falls foul of the above imho.

wexfordman2

Vegeta wrote: »

My interpretation is that they are illegal: Section 35 (d) of the Wildlife Act 1976, as ammended in 2000



A whistle is a wind instrument so therefore falls foul of the above imho.

Would that not also mean that you cant squeak a fox in, or magpie callers etc are illegal to use ?

Vegeta

wexfordman2 wrote: »

Would that not also mean that you cant squeak a fox in, or magpie callers etc are illegal to use ?

My opinion is that you are correct. It's hard to read it any other way, now obviously I'm not a judge, who's interpretation is what counts but it seems clear enough to me.

Has come up here a few times. Surprised the NARGC haven't targeted that one aggressively.

323

Vegeta wrote: »

My interpretation is that they are illegal: Section 35 (d) of the Wildlife Act 1976, as ammended in 2000

Quote:
(d) use an electrical or other instrument or appliance (including recording apparatus) emitting sound, for the purpose of hunting any wild bird or any wild animal.


A whistle is a wind instrument so therefore falls foul of the above imho.

Does seem a little ambiguous. But would that mean a duck call is also illegal?

May be wrong but, but had thought it was only the electronic calls that were illegal.

PL05

alsace royal wrote: »

the wild deer association of ireland was selling them at the birr game fare last weekend, they were 'nordik sika' so id think if they were selling them they are legal and above board.
im just assuming tho so im open to correction.

there,s always a loophole with Re: to laws/rules ie. been able to sell something and been able to actually use it. im not 100% with this but im nearly sure it stated in HCAP hunter training book that calls were illegal or any means as i said before ie feeding etc, now maybe this only applies to coillte lands. after all thats what HCAP is for i suppose. anyway if this is true that they are in fact illegal and the WDAI are selling them it contradicts a few things.

sikahuntejack

The reason i asked was the whistles legal, yesterday evening i used a sika whistle and straight away i shot a nice pricket speaking to another hunter he said as far as he was aware it was illegal to used a whistle i only bought the sika whistle yesterday in a gun shop i presumed it was ok to used one best 30 euro i spent since i starting deer stalking shot a deer on my first outing with it:D

Mauser 308

I picked up a sika whistle from the Wild deer association stand at the Birr game fair.
I had always thought they were not allowed, but asked them when I saw them for sale. The person I spoke to said that it is only electronic callers that are not permitted and that hand/wind operated are fine and legal.

So bring on he Rut.:D

Vegeta

Mauser 308 wrote: »

I picked up a sika whistle from the Wild deer association stand at the Birr game fair.
I had always thought they were not allowed, but asked them when I saw them for sale. The person I spoke to said that it is only electronic callers that are not permitted and that hand/wind operated are fine and legal.

So bring on he Rut.:D

If caught I hope you don't try n use the defence "a stranger said it was ok so it must be legal"

Instrument is a very broad term covering just about anything one could use.

323 there are specific allowances for duck callers in the same section of legislation.

deano2882

Mauser 308 wrote: »

I picked up a sika whistle from the Wild deer association stand at the Birr game fair.
I had always thought they were not allowed, but asked them when I saw them for sale. The person I spoke to said that it is only electronic callers that are not permitted and that hand/wind operated are fine and legal.

So bring on he Rut.:D

why bother stalking atall if tht the attitude in my eyes ur callin deer to u.. any joe soap wil stand there n call deer.. wat chance is that givin them the fun is tryin to get rite in on them without them noticing and then droppin em... thats why its called deer stalking not deer calling

Mauser 308

deano2882 wrote: »

why bother stalking atall if tht the attitude in my eyes ur callin deer to u.. any joe soap wil stand there n call deer.. wat chance is that givin them the fun is tryin to get rite in on them without them noticing and then droppin em... thats why its called deer stalking not deer calling

Deano, despite all the hype re cals, the deer do not just come running offering themselves up. In my opinion if someone was to master the calling then they might get a 1 or 2 more stags during the short rut period at best. The main point as I see it is that if you got good at imitating the stag call then a stag might answer back, letting you know roughly where he is, then the stalking begins. The hope being that you can get a call back from a good head.

If you don't mind me asking do you hunt deer yourself ?

For any inexperienced stalkers reading this, be aware there is no magic solution to deer. There are lots of stories and old wife's tales but there is most certainly no deer call yet developed that makes them just run in offering themselves up, except for the very odd exception. For any stalker that has mastered it its one or two a decade.

deano2882

yes i just started this year been out on land trying to follow signs fresh droppings prints in the mud ect to find deer..i managed to track 2 hinds one had a calf but no stags or prickets unfortunatly but that is stalking to me and to me its not even about shooting a deer when ur out the walk and being in the great outdoors is wat i love doin getting a deer is just a bonus really...

meathstevie

wexfordman2 wrote: »

Would that not also mean that you cant squeak a fox in, or magpie callers etc are illegal to use ?

Hand squeaks are definitely ok for foxes since no sound emitting instrument is used with the exception of what mother nature gave you.

daithi55

would rattling antlers comes under these laws i wonder

meathstevie

daithi55 wrote: »

would rattling antlers comes under these laws i wonder

Antlers can very easily be interpreted as an instument in this context.

greengrasscork

A young pricket will come running to a call where as the older bucks will sometimes call back or else just lurk in cover and try figure out whats ahead

snipe02

323 wrote: »

Does seem a little ambiguous. But would that mean a duck call is also illegal?

May be wrong but, but had thought it was only the electronic calls that were illegal.

Electronjc calls and other appliances equipment or recoedings meaning phones and ipods etc not illegal to use wind callers

everypenny

Vegeta wrote: »

My interpretation is that they are illegal: Section 35 (d) of the Wildlife Act 1976, as ammended in 2000
A whistle is a wind instrument so therefore falls foul of the above imho.

Your interpretation is incorrect as you're taking a portion of a sub paragraph which when not read in its entirety can cause confusion.

This is the entire section, Sub Para D refers in this case.

"35.—(1) Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act apart from this section, but subject to section 42, a person shall not—
(a) use as a scarecrow any live wild bird which is tethered, or

(b) use as a decoy for the purpose of hunting any wild bird a live wild bird which is tethered or secured by braces or other similar appliances or which is confined in a cage or pen or which is blind, maimed or injured, or

(c) use a stuffed or artificial decoy in the form of any bird for the purpose of hunting any protected wild birds, other than wild duck and wild geese, or

(d) use an electrical or other instrument or appliance (including recording apparatus) emitting or imitating birdcalls or the calls of wild mammals for the purpose of hunting a protected wild bird or a protected wild animal which is a mammal."


I put the last part of the sentence in bold. A fox is not a protected animal, nor is a crow, magpie etc. This refers to protected animals (deer, duck etc). Therefore fox callers and certain bird callers are perfectly legal.


Rattling antlers together is not the "use of an electrical or other instrument or appliance" and is perfectly legal.

Vegeta

everypenny wrote: »

Your interpretation is incorrect as you're taking a portion of a sub paragraph which when not read in its entirety can cause confusion.

This is the entire section, Sub Para D refers in this case.

"35.—(1) Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act apart from this section, but subject to section 42, a person shall not—
(a) use as a scarecrow any live wild bird which is tethered, or

(b) use as a decoy for the purpose of hunting any wild bird a live wild bird which is tethered or secured by braces or other similar appliances or which is confined in a cage or pen or which is blind, maimed or injured, or

(c) use a stuffed or artificial decoy in the form of any bird for the purpose of hunting any protected wild birds, other than wild duck and wild geese, or

(d) use an electrical or other instrument or appliance (including recording apparatus) emitting or imitating birdcalls or the calls of wild mammals for the purpose of hunting a protected wild bird or a protected wild animal which is a mammal."


I put the last part of the sentence in bold. A fox is not a protected animal, nor is a crow, magpie etc. This refers to protected or seasonal animals (specifically mammals rather than fish or birds). Therefore fox callers, bird callers are perfectly legal.


Rattling antlers together is not the "use of an electrical or other instrument or appliance" and is perfectly legal.

Crows and Magpies are certainly protected (EU Birds Directive) and can only be shot under derogation.

That's beside the point anyway because you've posted the 1976 Act which was amended in 2000. Amendments to Section 35 of the Wildlife Act remove the word "protected" from paragraph D

Which can be seen here

With regards rattling antlers, it is certianly more fuzzy There is no definition of "instrument" in the legislation as far as I can see. Therefore I refer to a dictionary definition which says an instrument is a tool or implement. Using antlers to bang together, well maybe a judge would class them as tools or implements. So I would strongly advise against it.