dodderangler wrote: »

True enough.
It really does annoy me.
In a days hunt I'd be happy with a pheasant and a snipe or two and that's it. If I got them in first 20 mins I'd just walk around the land and enjoy what I got.
Not always about killing.

Very true, so many hunters won't have manners and have to shoot everything they meet. I'd have to agree that snipe generally have declined a lot in the last twenty years. If things keep going the way they are we will be all just walking the land cos there'll be nothing left on the list for us to hunt.

With reference to the snipe being taken off the quarry list, it is taken out of context what was said (at the NARGC AGM) was "we need to increase the numbers of snipe/woodcock wings that are sent to the NARGC wing count as these figures are the best combat we have to any efforts to take these birds off the open seasons order.
So if you shoot any of these birds this season please submit one wing either through your county secretary or to the appointed national officer.

Earlier in this post there was some good ideas that the NARGC should be doing or take up as policy, If any member of the compensation fund has any worthwhile ideas they should bring them up at a county body meeting and try to get them debated at national level.

The NARGC is all of its members not just a few at the top, what the NARGC does is down each one of us.

blackpearl wrote: »

when I go shooting I hunt for a full day and would shoot pheasant , woodcock, snipe , pidgeon, duck, I will speak the truth when I say no I will not walk around with a gun empty after shooting one or two birds, I like my hunting to much I put a lot of work into my dogs I shoot 3 days a week and shoot a lot of game that is enjoyed at the table by my family and friends over the year.To hell with mister nice guy when it comes to these people in Europe,their problem is if woodcock,snipe, ect is scarce in Germany, france and Holland because they drained most of their bogs and done away with a lot of cover,they expect us to give up our shooting,well they can go and well you know what I mean.What are we paying the n.a.r.g.c. for they should fight this and tell them that they are the problem not us.

The problem is that our Snipe are their Snipe as well. Snipe are summer visitors from west Europe and west Africa and winter visitor from Faeroe Islands, Iceland and northern Scotland.
Unfortunately Snipe are now amber listed in Ireland due to concerns over the European population which has undergone recent decline.

We can shoot all we like but the fact that remains that many species are migratory so what happens in another country will effect the numbers arriving on our shores. Actively managing migratory populations is something we have all to subscribe to. No point ignoring that there are limits to what we can take.

what happens to the irish snipe what country do they migrate to ,and what about the skylark and trushes that were slaughtered in france and Italy these people make me sick they are the same people who pay big money to come over here and take big bags of snipe and woodcock on the west coast of Ireland and are now pushing for a ban on snipe shooting the whole thing is a joke ,most of my hunting is pheasant shooting with a mix of the rest, a lot of my friends in the midlands rely on the snipe and woodcock so their future is bleak as far as hunting is concerned.

Well I am sorry lads , but I whole heartily agree that they should be taken off the quarry list and I have said this for many a year among my group of friends.
Other than what you feel is your right, it make no sense to be shooting a species that is in trouble. Have a look at the size of the bird and how many you have to shoot to feed your family and how many failed clutch's of snipe did it take to produce what you have on your plate. I have been shooting for 40 years and you would not believe the amount of wet corners and pockets that are no longer there, and any wet pockets that are left are hammered. I have shot in Ireland the greater snipe, and if you are going to remove one you should remove them all as, the speed that they take flight with and the speed that you have to mount you gun and fire , well very few people are going to be able to tell the difference, till the dead bird in in their hand. I feel the same about woodcock as well. I am getting old and sentimental, I don't think so.

blackpearl wrote: »

I THINK SO.Wee don't need a post like this ,wee are in a hunting forum the antis would just love people like you,what about the duck and pheasant nests that failed should we not stop shooting them as well,welsummer I think it is time you joined a golf club and got into another hobby,you are really getting soft.

Yep, we are, and hunting is not about shooting game irrespective of whether or not its sustainable. If there is a problem with numbers and habitat, it needs to be addressed, not ignored. In any case, a perfectly healthy discussion for hunters, and imho, if you are not prepared to even discuss the conservation element of hunting, you should'nt be hunting.

who said anything about getting barrels hot, hunting 35 years done a lot more for wildlife than most,i am in favour of bag limits never said anything about killing big numbers of birds,what I am saying these rules are coming from countries who have done what you are saying no bag limits trushes skylarks you name it,most hunting men in Ireland have great resepct for the game they shoot,why should we lose yet another bird of the hunting list, because they will not no when to stop,ask the people who hunt snipe and woodcock do they want a ban what will they say a lot of people on here could not care about a ban on snipe or woodcock because they don't shoot them.if the goverement gave out payments to farmers for leaving wet corners alone on their farms instead of paying them to drain them and the clearing of bogs in the midlands and else where for turf,that would do a lot more for snipe than a hunting ban .

at last

Ohhh every club!!
our clubs 'senior' members reckon us trigger happy young lads are destroying the place shooting everything.
im not having a dig at the older lads but some have to realise we don't just go shoot all we can,when we can
some of us conserve, not shoot.

as for snipe, i have seen very good numbers in wetland where i havnt seen them before

Capercaille wrote: »

Bird Atlas 2007-2011 The Breeding and wintering birds of Britain and Ireland. Irish breeding population is down 34% over 40 years. Wintering population up 6% over 30 years.

forgive me if im being stupid, but what evidence have they that breeding is down?
is it a case of whoever runs the study isn't finding many?

No harm to you be very carefull about birdwatch Ireland they just love us hunters.

Capercaille wrote: »

Repeated surveys over the last 40 years. Birdwatch Ireland were in charge of the 2007-2011 survey in Ireland. I believe NARGC assisted in the survey as well.

afaik the nargc only assist by providing bag returns.
so low bag returns handed in from hunters = low numbers to report to birdwatch Ireland
and as for surveys?
like i said in a previous post, im seeing snipe in grounds i have never seen them before.
that doesn't mean i can claim numbers are increasing does it?