Legal Birdtrap ?

[Shrike]

Seen this birdtrap whilst out birding today , the sign on it says its a legal birdtrap used for trapping birds considered pests. Is this definately legal and what will happen to those 2 magpies caught in it ?

[Shrike]

forgot pic

[Dogghound]

Sounds like a larsen trap, one of the birds is a decoy and acts as bait to tempt the other one in. As long as the bird is not suffering and is killed humanely it is not an offence. However trapping Magpies in October is somewhat a waste of time for the landowner.

EDIT :Cross post, before you put up the photo. Thats not a Larsen trap, looks more like a heligoland trap or something similar.

[billybirder]

the larsen trap is widely misused, causing intense suffering to the bird. The idea is that once a bird is trapped, the original is humanely killed and the "new" trapped bird becomes the decoy. Unfortunately (actually to my mind the whole practice is cruel) what often happens is that the newly trapped bird is killed, leading to the original bird having a prolonged captivity during which it repeatedly attracts a companion, only to see it killed. It may also suffer from cramped conditions and a lack of shade, food and water. Frankly, in my opinion, disgusting.

[Dorts]

It is still legal to trap, (under license if damage can be proven), in British orchards, Bullfinches, using live male birds as decoys.
Dorts.

[tigertom]

knowing were this is would love to know what damage magpies are doing and what other birds get trapped
MIKE

[AfternoonLemon]

Originally Posted by tigertom

knowing were this is would love to know what damage magpies are doing and what other birds get trapped

That was my first thought. You would think that due to it's very nature it's probably not going to capture BsOP, but it would capture scavenging birds like Magpies, and as you say, what possible harm can they be doing??

Maybe someone could clarify that?

[werdnal]

Generally considered a pest to game birds, Magpies are often trapped this way. There are certain rules however, that cover the "lure" bird, so if these are not being met, the trap is not being used legally. The bird should have water, food and access to shade from hot sun and shelter from bad weather. Difficult to tell from the photos whether these provisions are included.

[Shrike]

Originally Posted by werdnal

Generally considered a pest to game birds, Magpies are often trapped this way. There are certain rules however, that cover the "lure" bird, so if these are not being met, the trap is not being used legally. The bird should have water, food and access to shade from hot sun and shelter from bad weather. Difficult to tell from the photos whether these provisions are included.

Thats the corner edge of a hedgerow behind it so i guess that constitutes shade,open fields on 3 sides doesn't sound so good for shelter from bad weather,not sure about food and water as didnt look 2 closely as the birds were not surprisingly quite distressed.

[tigertom]

Is some game birds around this area but none raised any near by also is very open were this is so no shade. Is wildfowlers who shoot near by mainly geese would they have set it?
The wildfowlers have been try to get permission to shoot on near by SSI
MIKE