Let's talk not fight.

[captivebolt]

I joined WAB a few weeks ago, mainly because I had seen a remarkably stupid thread about foxes and I wanted to see just how dumb people could get and still be let out off the lead. In the event, I have learned a lot and come to realise that conservationists and hunters are much closer than most of us realise.
I am a hunter. I use firearms mainly to control pests (Excluding antis . .) and to kill for the pot. I have no qualms about killing rabbits that will end up on the dining table. Nor do I have any qualms about killing rabbits that are destroying market garden crops. Yet if I see a fox on that land I will not kill it. The fox is helping to keep down the rabbits which threaten the crop.
If a farmer phones me and says that his free range chickens are being killed by foxes I will go to his farm and shoot the foxes without hesitation. I have said this before on this site.
WE DO NOT LIVE IN A NATURAL ECONOMY. The British landscape is agricultural, and artificial. We can maintain biodiversity by continued intervention OR we can stop growing crops and raising animals and rely on others for our food.
No brainer.
I will welcome sensible responses to this post. If you are about to go off on a rant about animal rights, don't bother.

Captivebolt
Captivebolt.

[Boddie]

what exactly do you want us to say?

[Michael A]

I think all guns should be liscenced and kept at a secure place including air rifles, i know two local young people who have lost eyes through people (who think they're hunters) shooting in local woodland.If animals need to be culled this should be done by trained people not by self proclaimed hunters who maybe watch too much American TV. I hope you don't class this as a rant as it's no more a rant than your thread. If you've got to shoot something try shooting it with a camera.
P.S. what qualification do you need to become a hunter?

[salukiwhippet]

Problem with that Michael would be enforcement. A requirement for licensing of airguns would only affect those who use them responsibly - people who are prepared to break the law with them now would continue to do so. Same with the handgun ban - thousands of FAC holders lost their hobby, and handgun crime has risen.

James

[bran goesgoch]

I have a few questions you, if you don't mind.........

Do you enjoy what you do?

Do you get great satisfaction from what you do?

Are you proud of what you do?

I would imagine you don't actually kill with every shot, so how do you feel about the animals you wound though never find to finish off?

Finally, have you posted on WAB purely with the intention of getting peoples backs up?

I’m just curious really.

[captivebolt]

Michael -
Guns must be stored in a cabinet meeting the Home Office specifications. It is not a simple matter to obtain a Fire Arms Certificate, and said certificate must specify just what calibres the holder is allowed to use. First certificates are usually "closed" meaning that the shooter can only use those calibres for which a given area of land has been passed by a qualified Firearms Enquiry Officer on behalf of the Chief Constable. Breaching any of these requirements can lead to severe terms of imprisonment, confiscation of all equipment used and a lifelong ban on having an FAC again. "Equipment" can include a vehicle used to travel to a piece of land.
Bran -
Yes, I enjoy what I do. I wouln't do it otherwise. I don't enjoy killing and I despise those who kill for the "fun" of it. I do enjoy making a good shot that drops the quarry in its tracks. I also get satisfaction from eliminating a dox that has been killing chickens. Have you ever seen what a fox can do to a new-born lamb? Foxes have no concept of cruelty and are just as happy to eat chunks of lamb torn off while the victim is alive.
If I fail to drop my quarry with one shot, having wounded the beast, my main priority becomes to track it down and administer the coup de grace.
I have put this up as a separate thread because, as was pointed out, I was in danger of hi-jacking another thread. I have had some interesting exchanges which have been good tempered on both sides.
As stated, we live in a thoroughly artificial landscape, more so in England than the rest of the UK. We must needs control that landscape and its denizens while respecting biodiversity.
I must confess to a certain sense of mischief though. That should be clear from my site name. A captive bolt is used as a humane killer . . .

Captivebolt.

[posie]

Originally Posted by Boddie

what exactly do you want us to say?

Yes...what do you want us to say?

[mrbright]

a very worthwhile and commendable living/hobby captivebolt, something i would have no qualms about undertaking, and the feasting would be an added bonus.
i would sooner have yourself come round to control a pest issue,unlike many who try to undertake the task themselves.
you as a hunter are not discriminating, i have seen the appalling effects of trapping and poisoning indiscriminately, dogs cats and various other unintended victims.
having worked on a small farm, i have seen the devastation that some of your targets carry out, it certainly is not pretty.
so whatever your reason for posting, i am with you.

tony.

[captivebolt]

Thanks Tony. I respect my quarry, and do my level best to ensure that death is quick and clean. The people whom I respect as hunters take much the same approach.
Posie - I wish that people who love wildlife, AS I DO, would acknowledge that there are circumstances where we have no realistic option but to kill to save.
My main point is still that if we take a cool collected look, conservationists and hunters are not really far apart.
So let's talk, not fight!

Captivebolt

[Beekeeper]

I agree with you captivebolt, i use an air rifle frequently to keep down pigeons and tree rats and for that matter would not hesitate to take out a Jay or Magpie which is threatening the other birds nests, i do appreciate nature in all its forms but once in a while it needs a helping hand to maintain a healthy balance, which at present is being upset by cats destroying our local birds nests, not that i would shoot a cat, but that is another story.

Perhaps i should enlist the local chinese takeway to deal with the excess of cats.


Ian