Animal cruelty videos on YouTube - can we all report them?

[vole-woman]

I'm out of my field of expertise here, but I think as an average Joe you need to apply for a licence from DEFRA before you shoot jays (and other corvids and pigeons) and you should demonstrate why you need to carry out the killing (eg damage to crops).

There are people on this forum who know more about it than me, though, so if I've got that wrong please do correct me.

[The Woodman]

I would recommend that anyone considering shooting birds should familiarise themselves with the Natural England guidelines on general licences published here...Natural England - General licences

[eeyore]

Originally Posted by vole-woman

I'm out of my field of expertise here, but I think as an average Joe you need to apply for a licence from DEFRA before you shoot jays (and other corvids and pigeons) and you should demonstrate why you need to carry out the killing (eg damage to crops).

There are people on this forum who know more about it than me, though, so if I've got that wrong please do correct me.

most of the common corvids - ie magpies, crows, rooks etc- and pigeons are covered by the general licence (in the UK), which means that landowners or those authorised by them, can kill them - but only so long as they (the birds) are causing significant nuisance/harm/or economic loss (and that non lethal means have already been established to be ineffective)

what that means in lay terms is that for example a farmer can kill them for damaging his crops, a gamekeeper can kill them to protect poult pens etc, and nature reserve staff can control them to protect rare species etc - however the ordinary joe cannot shoot them in his garden just because he doesnt like them - but he could arguably do so if he could demonstrate they were causing significant damage to house or garden.

The other proviso is that approved/humane means must be used - which means for corvids either shooting with a sufficiently powerful airrifle or firearm, or larsen trapping and humane despatch - Shooting with sub 9ftlb air rifles, with any form of bow, while using a light at night, poison, glue/lime, and pole traps are all absolutely forbidden

WRT Jays they used to be on the general licence, but i'm not 100% sure whether they still are - but either way they are not significantly numerous and thus it would be dificult to prove that they were actually causing significant harm or damage in most circumstances.

One point with WRT Utube videos is that they arent always posted from the UK so if put on from abroad they may depict activities legal in their country of origin. That isnt to say that some activities might remain abhorent (for example there are still countries where bear baiting and dog fighting occur legally) but it does make it more difficult for Utube to insist they are removed.

[The Woodman]

Authorised persons can kill Jays under general licence to

(i) Prevent serious damage to livestock, foodstuffs for livestock, crops, vegetables, fruit, growing timber, fisheries or inland waters, and
(ii) Prevent the spread of disease.

and to

Preserve public health or public safety.

and to

(i) Conserve wild birds, and
(ii) Conserve flora and fauna.

An authorised person is
13. “authorised person” - At the time of issue of this licence, “authorised person” is defined in section 27(1) of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 as:
i. the owner or occupier, or any person authorised by the owner or occupier, of the land on which the action authorised is taken;
ii. any person authorised in writing by the local authority for the area within which the action authorised is taken; and
iii. as respects anything done in relation to wild birds, any person authorised in writing by any of the following bodies, that is to say, any of the GB conservation bodies [this includes Natural England], a district board for a fishery district within the meaning of the Salmon Fisheries (Scotland) Act 1862 or a local fisheries committee constituted under the Sea Fisheries Regulation Act 1966;
iv. any person authorised in writing by the [Environment Agency], a water undertaker or a sewerage undertaker,
so, however, that the authorisation of any person for the purposes of this definition shall not confer any right of entry upon any land.

[bigdave60dog]

The old Gamekeepers would never allow a Jay on their beat as they do eat eggs and I think take young birds.
Unfortunately these old beliefs are deeply entrenched in much of the shooting fraternity -who are mostly country lovers as well-. Such a waste of life is no longer relevant.
When I was a boy we farmed and encouraged game on our land. We would not tolerate a "hooked beak" or any member of the crow family on our land or any Foxes, Stoats or Weasels just to mention a few.
In those days it was battle against nature to preserve your livelyhood.
It is probably impossible for anyone under 60 to imagine the relative abundance of and diversity of wildlife prior to the development of the "agribusiness" mentality that we have now.
Dave