and here is your failing.You pick and choose which rules in society you want to adhere to-its called selective principles.

As for these rules concering guns-what rules? I rifle shoot fox and rabbits at night and i'd like to hear about these rules you mentioned.

Edited to add:Im not trying to trip you up,but just intrested.

Trying to dazzle anyone with a firearm with a bright light is up there with one of the stupidest things i've heard in my whole life...

I'd try and argue my point but basically "what Dawn said" sums most of it up.

No, it's called intelligence. Being able to think for myself, not follow blindly just because "it's the law". Actually, I am not sure if there is the law of trespass any more is there?

Regarding your second paragraph, I am very concerned to say the least! I would not like to be out and about at night in your area if you go blasting off at wildlife willy nilly without taking any precautions as to whether there are any other people around - unlikely at night, I agree, but I know that many people round here like to go out at night counting barn owls which I am happy to say are thriving round here thanks to set-aside, the stewardship scheme and other DEFRA initiatives encouraging farmers to be "greener".

Watched it ... brilliant! I don't know either how to post a video link, but this is a snippet from the Guardian I think it was:

"In an interview with Radio Times, he (David Attenborough) also outlined his opposition to a planned badger cull, which the Government has halted. "You have a very distinguished scientist working with an expert panel to sort things out. The committee, headed by Lord Krebs, have done that and they say killing badgers will not make the situation better, except in the very short term, and will almost certainly make it much worse. So I'm with that."

So you have an eminent scientist like Lord Krebs, heading an expert panel, to study whether or not a badger cull is the answer. The answer is no - and not even is the answer no, killing badgers will almost certainly make the problem much worse!! And what does DEFRA do? Ignore this advice which doubtless has cost you and me, the beleaguered tax payers, millions, and blindly go ahead and allow - pointlessly - thousands of badgers to be slaughtered - at further great expense to you and me, the beleagured tax payers.

Sometimes I wonder whether homo sapiens really is the most intelligent species

There are no rules-its called having common sense and knowing what you're doing.Learn the land you're shooting on,make sure theres a backstop to catch the bullet should you miss,know where any footpaths are-its all common sense stuff,but no rules.

You are right though with tresspass-its only ever been a civil offence,but that does not make it right.You would be on someone elses property without their permission and you still think thats ok? See,we've come back to that selective principles thing again...

If David Attenborough is saying the cull is wrong,that's good enough for me!

I disagree with it too, Nikki.

Here's a link to (I know!) the DM with Brian May et al protesting:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...don-march.html

This is awful:

The British Veterinary Association, which is supporting the cull, urged protesters not to hinder the pilot schemes, so information could be gathered by independent experts to assess if shooting free-running badgers could be done humanely.


So they don't actually know if it can be done humanely before they do it????

So it's an experiment, a "pilot" - so all those badgers will die to discover whether it can he done "humanely and safely":

http://www.bva.co.uk/news/3431.aspx

“We accept that there is a gap in our knowledge, which is whether controlled shooting can deliver a badger cull humanely and safely, and to the same degree of effectiveness as cage trapping and shooting. That is what the pilots are designed to address and why is it important that they are allowed to go ahead unhindered.

“We understand that this is a highly emotional issue but we must be able to gather the evidence to enable future policy decisions to be based on science.”

They will decide whether it is humane by testing the level of the badgers screams while its being killed!!!!if you can believe that

I never said there were ... I very carefully avoided using the words in my last post!! Because, of course, it was more than clear to me than despite your protestations, you were indeed trying to trip me up. I am afraid you did not succeed.

You've answered my question for me ... I hope no-one is around counting barn owls in YOUR area when you are shooting at night. You cannot rely on people sticking to footpaths.

And yes, I do think it OK to be on someone's else property without their permission to protect an animal - any animal, domestic or wild - from pain, suffering and unnecessary slaughter. I am no vigilante, but I passionately believe in the preservation of wildlife and I passionately believe that the human species is NOT the most important species on the planet, EVERY species has its place in the great scheme of things, and as the supposedly most intelligent species, we should use our intelligence intelligently, not blindly for short-term gain.