Aren't Farmers wonderful?

[RobinP]

Okay, I can put up with digging up a footpath across a field and planting crops along it, but holding a pheasant shoot no more the 20 metres from the path is a bit off, the dog I was walking was terrified and we had to make a huge detour to avoid it.

Also there is a small wood nearby, plastered with 'nature only- keep out' notices. If you look closely there is very little nature, just some large feeding pots for the pheasants.

I don't have a problem with shoots 'per se' but please respect the general public rights to footpaths and bribleways.

Rant over.

Robin

[thunder]

Well, yes, actually, farmers are wonderful. They produce the food that you and I eat (and your dog), so I think a detour on one walk is a small price to pay.

henrya

[Burko]

Yep, the land is all there just so people can walk their dogs.

[pressld2]

Just like every other profession there are good and bad. Believe it or not there are decent bankers and estate agents and, likewise, there are ropey farmers. From Robin's post it sounds as though this one is deliberately trying to make it awkward for people to use a public footpath. However much I'm grateful for the food on my plate, this is unacceptable.

Originally Posted by RobinP

I don't have a problem with shoots 'per se' but please respect the general public rights to footpaths and bribleways.

Perfectly reasonable position in my view.

Dave P.

[earthdragon64]

In some instances, shooting across or near a footpath can be against the law. Some useful info on the Ramblers website;

Shooting and Rights of Way | Home | Ramblers, Britain's Walking Charity

BASC also has a code of good shooting practice which re-iterates this,sections 3 and 9 being most relevant;

BASC - Code of good shooting practice

As an aside, now the shooting season has started, my parents get a load of Pheasants hiding in various parts of their garden whilst the shoot is going on. Pheasants aren't always as dumb as they often appear.

Regards, Audrey.

[muldonach]

As has already been pointed out you have both statutory legal rights and implied protection under codes of practice when it comes to shooting in proximity to a footpath.

Your OP does not give the impression that you personally felt discommoded or put at any danger by the shoot, rather that you were inconvenienced by having to detour because your dog was frightened by the noise.

Assuming that legal obligations have been complied with, it would appear that you would like the landowner to suspend a perfectly legal pastime which he is pursuing on his own land in the company of friends (or perhaps paying guests) to avoid frightening your dog?

Perhaps a little live and let live might be in order, the farmer may have to respect your statutory rights but that does not automatically make your dog a welcome visitor - particularly on a shoot day.

Cheers
mac

[Jason Green]

I wonder how close the shoot was to the path.

[pressld2]

Originally Posted by Jason Green

I wonder how close the shoot was to the path.

Originally Posted by RobinP

holding a pheasant shoot no more the 20 metres from the path

Originally Posted by muldonach

Perhaps a little live and let live might be in order, the farmer may have to respect your statutory rights but that does not automatically make your dog a welcome visitor - particularly on a shoot day.

You make some good points Mac, but unless I'm reading too much into the OP this particular farmer has also ploughed up a footpath and planted crops on it. I'm getting the impression, possibly wrongly, that this isn't an isolated incident. He wouldn't be the first landowner to try and stop people using a legitimate public right of way across his land.

I wouldn't condone the tarring of all farmers with the same brush. I'm sure the majority of farmers really are wonderful but that doesn't mean we should just put up with the actions of the few that aren't. The majority of nurses are wonderful but we don't just ignore the ones who leave elderly patients dehydrated and unfed.

Dave P.

[tom00_uk]

the land owner might have rented out the wood and the right to hold shoots, there is a farmer near me that engages in this practice

[Ladywell]

Farmers are allowed to re-route a footpath if they plant crops. I thought that landowners had to post notices re shoots? Lathkilldale which is a National Nature reserve still has shooting rights (I think from the Haddon Estate) and the footpaths are closed on certain days during the shooting season.