They lamp round here - I detest it.

Tell me about one of them? Or are you going on hearsay?

I know quite a few gamekeepers, and not one of them puts down poison, if they use snares they check them as required by law, and not all of them use snares. I don't know one gamekeeper that traps foxes, if they are a nuisance, they usually lamp for them, or get someone in to lamp for them.

So do I ... I come from a background of hunting, fishing and shooting, and, going back to my youth, I knew very well the local gamekeeper. We used to drink with him in the local, and his wife worked for my mother. To the great annoyance of the local Master, he would shoot foxes, use snares, back then buzzards were almost extinct, but had there been any he would definitely have destroyed nests. Gamekeepers were at least partly responsible for the huge decline in buzzards and other birds of prey (for obvious reasons). Today, they seem to be far more enlightened I am pleased to say.

I've never said that gamekeeping in the past wasn't anything different and completely agree, and I'm as glad as anyone that it seems to be (for the most part) to have moved on, many gamekeepers these days are involved in conservation of endangered species, such as barn owls, grey partridge, water voles etc. There are still some who are intent on sticking to the *bad old ways* but hopefully they are themselves an endangered species, and will become extinct in the near future!

Do they?

Helen

Great post Tarimoor, I can think of a couple who go into our local who are very much "new school". Neither are anti fox hunting, but you can't have everything I am pleased to say that we have a healthy barn own population round these parts, sadly no grey legs but we do have red legged partridges and plenty of voles, shrews etc. in what is left of the set-aside.

Just need to look here: http://www.gwct.org.uk/ at what the game industry does for conservation.

Helen

well at least you admit they use snares ...ive been in my vets when a badger was brought in rescued from a snare which had snared it around its middle! they didnt expect the poor thing to survive...anyone who uses these are scum of the earth!

lol the gwct how very onesided ...well heres the other side

http://www.animalaid.org.uk/images/p...leshooting.pdf

Not silly "notions" though - it happens, regularly