THE GUNS, THE GUNS …
As published in the Kent and Sussex Courier Friday
January 25th 2013 under the headline
“A shot in the arm for rural
economy”
Around the turn of the year woodlands in the countryside around here
are alive to the sound of … shotguns.
Pheasant shooting seems to be undergoing a renaissance.
Personally I don’t see the fun in firing a powerful firearm at a
defenseless bird. It’s just such
an unequal contest. A bow and
arrow or a catapult, yes possibly,
but a high explosive charge and 400 lead pellets … really?
However it’s a traditional country pursuit, and given the state of
the rural economy almost anything that helps must be good news.
The trouble is that sport for the few, can be intimidating for the
many.
Just this morning the dog and I were on one of our regular walks
along part of the High Weald Landscape Trail - to the accompaniment of gunfire.
The public footpath took us through private coppice woodland. Myrtle was
getting unsettled. We turned a
corner and there, actually on the footpath itself, a young man raised his
shotgun right in front of us and fired both barrels into the sky.
I was so surprised I just bellowed at him: “What on earth are you
doing? This is a public footpath you can’t shoot here.” Actually I had no idea whether legally
he could or not but within seconds another man in tweed suit and matching cap
came to his defence, telling me he owned the woodland and, while I was entitled
to use the footpath, they were entitled to shoot, and perhaps I should move
along.
The confrontation was (just) amicable enough but the moment I got
home I hit the net and looked up the law.
It didn’t take long as there isn’t much. But the British Association for Shooting and Conservation
tells members: “One should refrain from shooting when a right of way is being
used as this could be construed as a common law nuisance, willful obstruction
or a breach of Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.” They also advise that signs should be
posted and watchers should sound horn or whistle to stop the drive when a
person is seen approaching.
Well, my land-owner was clearly in breach of that advice. But I did discover why he was so quick
to support his shooter. People pay around £25 a bird on a pheasant shoot. So a “200-bird day” for eight guns will
net him around £5,000. Good for
the rural economy as I said. Just
not so much fun for the pheasant.
