English Game Season

[Britsmoothy]

The game license was abolished several years ago also.
I lament what is called "a commercial shoot". Folk pay huge amounts to kill birds that no one wants or has a use for.
Some horror stories abound of hundreds of birds being buried!
That is not sustainable, from an ethical standards point.
Years ago game dealers would pay good money to get game off shoots but the bottom has fell out of the market and nobody or very few want them any more.
I withdrew from traditional game shoots a few years ago but do help with fox's and vermin on one estate. And I am winding that down!



B.

 

[kemart17]

i still remember the good days of pheasant hunting in pa with my dad. really miss it.

changing farming habits and pesticide have pretty much decimated the wild pheasants in the area i live.

 

[George]

As most shooting apart from coastal wildfowling is on private land, those with the shooting rights, even rough shooters, have a vetsed interest in preserving game and destroying the enemies of game. (vermin) so it all works out very well with no government interference.

Sounds idyllic.

The government seems to have been interfering a bit in earlier days, but with the same stated goal, protecting and preserving the game.

Thomas Page, The art of shooting flying, 4th edition, 1770:

For the information and satisfaction of my readers, I have here inserted an abstract of the two late Acts of Parliament, viz. That of the 2d. of George III. and that of the 10th. of George III. for the better preservation of the Game, whereby they may the better know the respective Time when they may begin, and when they are to leave off sporting, and also the penalties and punishments of infringing or breaking the above acts.

The Statute of the 2d. of George III. for the better preservation of the game, enacts, That no person after the first day of June, 1762, shall upon any pretence whatsoever, take, kill, destroy, carry, buy, or have, in his, her, or their possession, or use, any partridge between the 12th day of February and the 1st day of September, or any pheasant between the 1st day of February and the 1st day of October, or any heath fowl, commonly called black game, between the 1st day of January and the 20th of August, or any grouse (commonly called red game) between the 1st day of Dec. and the 25th day of July in any year. Persons offending in any of the aforesaid cases, forfeit five Pounds per bird to the prosecutor. The whole of the above penalties may be sued for and recovered to the sole use of the prosecutor with double costs, and no part of the penalty shall be paid or applied, to or for the use of the poor. Prosecutions to be brought within six months next after the fact committed.

N.B. By the above Act of 2d. George III. the sporting season for partridge is, from the 1st Sept. to the 12th of Feb. both inclusive.

For pheasants, from the 1st of October to the 1st of Feb. both inclusive.

For black game, from the 20th of August to the 1st of January, And

For grouse, from the 25th of July to the 1st of December, and no other time. But Hares are not included in this Act, they may be killed all the year, under the restrictions in the following Act.

The late Statute of the 10th George III: for the preservation if the game, enacts, That after the 24th of June, 1770. If any person shall take, kill, or destroy, any hare, pheasant, partridge, moor game, heath game, or grouse in the night, between one hour after sun setting, and one hour before sun rising, or use any gun, dog, snare, net or other engine for taking, killing or destroying any such game in the night as aforesaid, every such person shall for the first offence be committed to goal for any time not exceeding six months nor less than three, and be publickly whipped. And for the second offence to be imprisoned not exceeding twelve months, nor less than six, and be publickly whipped. And if any person upon a sunday take kill or destroy any hare, pheasant, partridge, moor game, heath game or grouse, or shall upon a sunday use any gun, dog, snare, net or other engine for taking, killing, or destroying any such game as aforesaid, and be convicted thereof upon the oath of one witness, shall forfeit and pay any sum not exceeding 30I, nor less than 20I. One moiety thereof to go to the informer, the other to the poor of the parish. If no sufficient distress can be had, the offender to be committed to gaol for any time not exceeding six months, nor less than three.

N. B. By the above Act of the 10th George III, The time for sporting is in the day time, viz. from one hour before the sun rises, until one hour after it sets.

Spence

 

[Pukka Bundook]

Brit,

I think I'd get a shock if I ever went back home.
Been here 34 years and never been back.
Very sad to hear Feltwad hasn't seen a partridge in years!
That was one of the magic bits I was hoping to get back and see/hear.
I gather even blackbirds are much less common than they once were. Sad state of affairs!

Maybe I am as well to stay here.
Do you remember the lines in one of Dolly Parton's songs;
"Where beauty lives in memory, it lives forever more" ?
Maybe I should just remember, and not kill it by going to see how it Really is.

 

[Spikebuck]

Over the years larger and larger farms came to be with larger equipment. Now most of those pastures and wind breaks are gone and a section of land is mostly farmed from road to road. There are not many areas for game to live.

Yes...big erosion in a number of game populations when corn prices went sky-high and every farmer was taking their land out of the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) and plowing it under, along with taking out fence rows between fields, taking out any tiny patches of woods that could be turned into cropland, etc. I'm not blaming them...they need to make money on their land and many years are hard enough...but still it had the effect of greatly reducing habitat, and therefore game and non-game species.

 

[Feltwad]

Spence,

I don't pretend to answer for Feltwad, but the game seasons are fixed, whether big shoots or small.
If I recall correctly, Wildfowl season (Ducks, geese waders and etc. ) begins 1st Sept, as does Partridge season.
Pheasants 1St Oct.
Most of us would never dream of shooting right at the beginning of the season, gave the birds time to mature. No joy in shooting cheapers.

Large estates have keepers, who do their best to patrol and watch out for poachers, but no game wardens per se, not in the N American style.
No bag limits but over there , it would be to our own detriment to shoot too many.
(It would be like a farmer over here killing more chickens than he raised. Only himself to blame for no birds).
As most shooting apart from coastal wildfowling is on private land, those with the shooting rights, even rough shooters, have a vetsed interest in preserving game and destroying the enemies of game. (vermin) so it all works out very well with no government interference.
We do need a game licence but it is a negligible amount compared to over here.
Never asked to show one though.

Now, I'm sure Feltwad will put me right if much has change din the last 30-odd years!

One thing I Did like, is that the deer seasons are separate for bucks /does, or hinds & stags.
Made an awful lot of sense!

What you said is correct there have been no changes in the game laws for several hundreds of years, has for bag limits there is no limit
The commercial shoots that fellow Brit mentioned about burying game if it was correct is wrong but a lot of this talk is anti proper gander these people who banned hunting with dogs are now turning more attention to shooting .Has for the outlet for game this has not been helped by EU laws such has game wing or ground must be -7 degrees when accepted at the game dealer , most of English shot game plus pigeons go to France and neighbouring countries
Commercial shoots are big business but a large majority who shoot are foreigner's from the continent and the states who pay mecca amounts of money. There are several faults with these shoots which I do not think are good for game shooting ,but for the future of game shooting can the UK game shooter do without them.
Feltwad

 

[Pukka Bundook]

Spence,

When I was talking about no Gov't interference with "Game Production and preservation", I was meaning on the land, and not meaning anything in relation to "Game laws".
By the above, I mean we can raise game-birds as we see fit, shoot as many or as few, as we see fit. Shoot them All if we are shortsighted enough and all without any government interference.
Yes, laws to protect game have been strict since the Magna Carta, to "Protect it for the enjoyment of those entitled", so to speak.

I hope you see the differences in what we were talking about.
...
No policing shoots, no bag limits, no tags and such, just laws for the Preservation of Game.